Truly Demonic
by Malkavian-Rocker
Summary: Inuyashas choice leads to Kagomes demise. But can death truly hold those that do not wish to perish? Rated for violence and adult themes. 1st Fanfic, constructive criticism is welcome.
1. Chapter 1

**Truly Demonic**

_Forgive me... _ That floated through the hanyous mind as he stared at the grave. It was well kept, by whom he wasn't sure, but he didn't really care either. In that grave, in that earth, lay the girl who had redefined him, the girl who had promised him never to leave him. And she hadn't broken that promise either. He had. And for what? A lifetime of guilt. She had managed to combine the roles of best friend, mother, sister, confidante, comrade in arms and shoulder to cry on like no other. Her loyalty had impressed even the haughtiest of lords both human and demon. Even the king of pricks, the ice lord himself, his half-brother had been impressed by her. He knew that she'd loved him, and if he was honest, he had begun to love her to. But it had all come far too late. She had always been there for him, but when it had mattered most, he had not been there for her. Her smile, her laugh and even her scent, were cut into his memory, ever fresh wounds that would never heal.

He walked closer to the grave, kneeling down in front of it. He was mildly surprised that Shippo wasn't there, he rarely left this place. A sad smile crossed his face as he thought of the kit that had adored the woman interred in the grave in front of him. Shippo had seen her as a surrogate mother, and she had embraced that role, and filled it well. Inuyasha knew that the kit had secretly hoped that the hanyou would join the little family as a father of sorts, but Inuyasha had miserably failed at that. The young fox hated him now, hated him for the role he had played in his new mothers death. Memories of that fateful night flitted through his mind. Again he saw Naraku, the hated enemy, flaunting the two women in his life in front of him, confronting him with a choice. Save the old love and loose the budding new love, or save the girl and loose the woman. He had wanted to save both, so he did what he always did. He simply attacked his enemy without thinking. The others had cried out in alarm, trying to warn him, but he hadn't listened. Narakus reaction had been simple. Hovering at the cliff edge he simply flung the two females from him and swooped away laughing at the hanyou. Inuyashas reaction had been quick. Motivated by love and guilt, he lunged for the clay miko, he abandoned the girl to death. And the worst? As much as he might tell himself that it had been a reflex, a knee-jerk reaction to use an expression she had once used on him, he had been fully aware of the decision not to save her. And judging from the last expression he had glimpsed on her beautiful face, so had she. That expression had shattered Inuyashas soul, as surely as her arrow had shattered the jewel. He had pulled Kikyo, his old love, into his arms, watching the slayer take off after the falling girl on Kirara. But it was clear that even the fire nekos speed would not be fast enough. Those moments were clear as glass in Inuyashas memories, and they would never fade.

The reactions of his "friends" had been predictable. Shippo had simply cried, bawling his eyes out, screaming for his mother and calling Inuyasha every name he could think of. The monk had been more reserved, quiet even, but the anger and hate, yes hate, in his eyes had burned brighter than any fire. Kikyo had stood to the side, emotionless until she suddenly broke down screaming. Tears had started to flood down her face, sobs racking her, now human, body. The others were stunned by this outbreak and even more stunned as Kikyo shook Inuyasha, screaming at him, demanding why he hadn't saved her reincarnation. Then they had understood, and Shippo had let out a loud wail before breaking down and sobbing quietly. At the same time something had died in Inuyasha, confirming to him what he had already known. She was dead. And he had killed her. It didn't matter that it had been Naraku who had thrown her, he hadn't saved her, choosing to save an undead imitation of an old love instead. And in death, their shared soul had become whole again, the girls part going to her pre-incarnation, restoring her fully and giving her all the memories and feelings of the girl, showing her the girls innermost secrets, her feelings and her hurt.

Inuyasha had gotten the old, the real Kikyo back, but he had lost her at the same time. With the burden of the girls memories, Kikyo could not, or would not, even try to revive their old love. For the real Kikyo was horrified at her treatment of her reincarnation. Horrified at what she had done, at the suffering she had caused.

When the slayer returned with Kag... the girls broken body, her reaction had been simple and predictable. She had screamed and ranted at Inuyasha and then beat him almost senseless, crying for her sister at the same time. Inuyasha hadn't defended himself, taking the beating, accepting it as part of his punishment, his eyes riveted to the now cold, broken corpse of a girl he had once sworn to protect.

The slayer, monk and kit had left then, taking the body with them, leaving Inuyasha and Kikyo behind. Eventually the still sobbing miko had taken care of his wounds, and they had made their way back to the small village of Edo. They didn't catch up with the rest of the tachi, nor did they try, both locked inside their own worlds. When they came to Edo, the monk was waiting for them. He asked Inuyasha to take the girl's body back through the well, so that her family might bury her, but they quickly discovered that with her death, the well had closed. Inuyasha was no longer able to go back to Kag... the girl's time. It was decided that she would be buried at the foot of the god tree, and, surprising everybody, Kikyo suggested that a small shrine be built in her memory. They didn't realise at the time that this very shrine would be the beginning of what would be the Higurashi-Shrine centuries later.

If it hadn't been for Kikyo, the tachi would have probably broken up then and there. Inuyasha didn't know for sure what she had said to them, but Kikyo had sought out the members of the tachi, speaking to each in turn. After that they had agreed that now more than ever, Naraku had to be taken down, and the Tama reassembled. After a few weeks of mourning, they had resumed their trips across the country, but it wasn't the pleasant experience anymore that it had once been.

Inuyasha sighed. Nothing was the same anymore. Not since Kag... the girl had died. _The girl...I really AM pathetic, I can't even bring myself to use her name anymore. KAGOME!_ He winced at the pain that shot through him as her name brought up many unwelcome memories. Her cooking for him, fighting with him, laughing with and often at him, her terrible sit-command. He both cherished and hated these memories. With tears in his eyes he lent forwards, placing his hand on her grave where her head would be. _Forgive me... I'm so sorry._

He gasped as a hand burst out of the dirt, its fingers closing around his throat, constricting, choking him. His eyes widened in terror as a second hand pushed itself out of the dirt to join the first. He scrabbled at the bony, rotting appendages, trying to free himself from them but their strength was incredible. He gasped trying desperately to get air into his lungs. Then to his horror a face slowly emerged from the grave dirt. Much of the skin had rotted away, revealing bone, her lips once beautiful and rosy were gone, leaving her face in a perpetual, hideous grin. Her hair had mostly fallen out or rotted away, but her eyes, those beautiful brown eyes, were still there, but what had once been warm, was now cold and lifeless. "NO INUYASHA!" The spectre rasped with a terrifying voice, a parody of the once musical chime that her voice had been. "YOU ARE NOT FORGIVEN!" More and more of her body was pushed out of the grave, until she was standing in front of him, dressed in the tattered remains of the ceremonial kimono she had been buried in. Her hands were still wrapped around his neck, their steely grip unforgiving. Still on his knees he stared up at her, into those terrifying eyes. "YOU BETRAYED ME, YOU MURDERED ME! BECAUSE OF YOU I HAVE TO ROT IN THIS FOUL GRAVE! BECAUSE OF YOU MY DREAMS WILL STAY JUST THAT! DREAMS! I LOVED YOU! AND ALL YOU DID WAS BETRAY ME!" Her thundering words cut him more painfully than any enemies claws or swords ever had, for they had the ring of truth to them. "KIKYO MAY NO LONGER WANT TO DRAG YOU TO HELL, BUT ONE DAY YOU WILL COME THERE, AND I WILL BE WAITING FOR YOU! UNTIL THEN, YOU WILL LIVE IN PAIN INUYASHA, UNTIL IT IS TO MUCH FOR YOU TO TAKE! NOW WAKE UP AND DON'T COME HERE AGAIN!" With that she flung him against the god tree hard, and the last thing he saw was her eyes, crying burning tears.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Anguish

_"KAGOME!"_ Inuyashas hand shot out as he jerked awake, the sudden movement almost toppling him out of his tree. His heart thumping like a drum, his wide eyes scanned the surrounding darkness. _A dream? That was a dream? _Slowly calming down he thought about what he had seen, and compared it to the other nightmares he'd been having in the past. This had been by far the worst, he could still feel those cold fingers around his neck and the scent of rotting flesh seemed to linger in his sensitive nose. _Almost a year now, almost a year since... since I lost my soul._ The group had decided to return to Edo for the anniversary of Kagome's death. The hanyou sighed. The tension in the group had eased, but he often felt that he was more tolerated than accepted. But he accepted that. The others might shun him, but he would protect them with his life, that was the least he could do to atone for his stupidity. Inuyasha frowned. They weren't exactly friends but at least comrades, fighting towards the same goal. Nowadays the others reacted better to Kikyo than to him. This antipathy his former friends had developed towards him had practically driven him from the camp to find a place to rest somewhere in the surrounding trees. He slept away from camp very often.

Miroku looked at the slayer sitting next to him. Sango had taken Kagome's death almost as bad as Shippo. He knew that woman who held his heart had seen the young miko of sorts as a sister. The two had been almost inseparable, always chatting away or bathing together. Not Shippo though. Miroku sighed. The kit had taken the loss the worst. He refused to leave the area around Kagome's grave for any length of time, he only returned to Kaede's hut to sleep. He had taken it upon himself to care for the small shrine and the grave of his mother figure. The small shrine had been built by the villagers and Kagome's many friends, like Kouga the wolf prince and Jinenji the calm hanyou giant. Kouga had been incredibly upset at Kagome's death, and had practically gone berserk, trying to kill both Inuyasha and Kikyo. But after a battered Kikyo had told him that she would welcome death, but only after she had paid her debts and destroyed Naraku, Kouga had left, vowing that he would kill both of them after Naraku's final defeat. He'd left after that, disappearing in his typical whirlwind.

Sesshoumaru's reaction had been rather surprising. Up to that moment, his tense relationship with Inuyasha had been gradually improving, but Kagome's death had changed that. The daiyoukai claimed that Inuyasha had been disloyal, renouncing his vows to the young miko and letting her die. He had said that his half-brother had shown that he wasn't worth any respect or even the demon lord's time, and that his behaviour had proved beyond doubt that he truly was a stain on the families honour. After that he had begun to simply ignore the hanyou, acting as if he didn't even exist, unless directly threatened. Miroku knew that this had hurt Inuyasha profoundly, even if he never showed it. The young halfling had secretly been hoping to actually form a brotherly relationship with his older brother, but those hopes had been dashed.

Miroku looked across the fire at the miko who had taken Kagome's place in the group, even if she could never truly fill her footsteps. No words had been spoken for a long time now, and the monk and the slayer heard the silence louder than usual. No sounds of argument, no joy over futuristic foods and toys, no stories being told to the young fox, stories to which even Inuyasha had listened with quiet wonder, no fretting about 'tests', 'exams' and 'homework' or other confusing concepts. Only the sounds of a forest at night, the crackling of the fire, and their own breathing.

When morning finally came, it was a dreary and dank one. Dark clouds hung low in the sky, promising rain. It seemed as if all of creation was mourning the brightest light to have ever graced the world. The tachi trudged along in silence, Miroku, Sango and Kirara in front, Kikyo second, Inuyasha last. He'd given up his position as leader of the pack long ago, and no one had contradicted him. He scowled. _No surprise there._ His mind wandered back to the nightmare he'd had last night, and shuddered. He could still hear the raspy voice dooming him to a life of misery and pain, still feel the bony fingers around his throat. It had been so vivid, so real. _I'm so sorry Kagome, I really am._ To his credit, he really did feel genuine regret, even if it was slightly marred by a generous helping of self-pity. It had taken Kagome's death, and Kikyo's subsequent revival to make him see his mistakes. He'd loved both Kikyo and Kagome, both as women, not as friends, but his feelings for Kagome had been merely budding, while his love for Kikyo had already fully flowered. In the critical moment, he'd followed the stronger pull of established love, dooming Kagome. _I'll make it up to you Kags, somehow, I'll make it up to you, even if I have to go to hell so that you can have the peace you deserved._

Little did he know that his thoughts were not completely private.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Small Hands, Big Heart

Shippo was always careful to keep himself busy. Clearing the weeds from the grave, keeping it free of leaves, and looking after the shrine. He knew that Kagome had liked to keep things in order. She couldn't do it herself now, so someone had to do it for her. Also, if he kept busy, he could forget about his anger and sadness. It had been tough to lose his mother, not only once, but twice. What made it worse, was that he had lost her because of the man he had once regarded as an older brother, perhaps even as a father. But now he was just the bastard responsible for his mommas death.

Kikyo was a different matter. Even though she was in part responsible for his mother's death, after he had seen her reaction to the whole matter, he couldn't bring himself to hate her, though he didn't like her either. He didn't think he ever would like her, partly because he sometimes could see Kagome in her, and he hated those moments, remembering how Kagome had hated being compared to the older miko. He'd had to admit quite soon that Kikyo wasn't as bad as he'd thought at first, it was obvious that she'd only been to hate Kikyo, for better or for worse, the kits antipathy had centred on Inuyasha. He never spoke to his former friend, ignoring his presence completely. He knew that Inuyasha felt immensely guilty about Kagome's death, but well, so he should. Shippo grunted as he packed up the tools he used to take care of the small clearing underneath Goshinboku. Kagome had once told Miroku that, should she die during their quest for the Tama, she wanted to be buried at the foot of the Godtree, her body intact instead of being burned. She'd said that she wanted nature to be able to reclaim her body, but Shippo thought that she'd chosen that because Kikyo had been burned.

Shippo looked up, catching glimpses of the cloud covered sky through the trees. It was late. Sango and the others would be arriving soon. He looked forward to seeing Sango and Miroku again, they were his closest friends now that Kagome was gone. He often regarded them as an aunt and uncle. The group would be arriving to remember their dearest friend and to honour her memory. Kagome had been like a sister to Inuyasha and Sango, and losing her had been a nasty blow to them. Packing up, he decided to head for Kaede's hut, hoping to be there to greet his friends on their arrival. A flapping sound in the trees caught his attention, and he looked to see were the sound was coming from. A few crows had landed in the branches of the god tree, cawing at each other as if in greeting. Shippo frowned, he wasn't too fond of the large black birds. He briefly considered driving the birds away, but decided against it. He didn't want to deal with angry crows right now. He shrugged and continued on down the hill, to where he already could see the houses of Kaede's village.

The crows occupying the god tree watched the fox kit go, cawing to one another. When Shippo was out of sight, they turned their attention to the grave. They merely stared at it, seemingly waiting for something to happen. After a while, another sound disturbed the clearing. Rustling, and the sound of snapping twigs. Something (or some things) were creeping through the underbrush. A quiet, high-pitched chuckle came from the bushes, followed by an irate sounding growl. A minute later, all was quiet again. But dozens of eyes, glossy black and shiny red, were riveted on the grave. And, barely perceptible, the earth on the grave seemed to shift.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: In Memory

Silence permeated Kaede's hut. Nobody wanted to speak first, nobody wanted to breach the dam that seemed to hold back all the pain, anger, bitterness and accusations. Kikyo could feel the agitation that flowed through slayer companion and the fox kit. The monk was harder to read, face expressionless, eyes fixed on the fire, hands folded in his lap. But there were small hints, the twitching of a finger, the ramrod straight position he sat in, that told of Miroku's tension. Kikyo looked to her right, where her younger sister sat. Kaede's face was set, expression grim, but there were unshed tears glittering in her good eye. Once again, Kikyo was amazed by the impact her re-incarnation had made on everyone._ Even on Inuyasha._ A twang of jealousy shot through her at the thought, quickly followed by a surge of now familiar guilt. She still loved Inuyasha, but she didn't think that she had the right to act on her feelings after what she had put Kagome through, even if she'd been in a different position then. She hadn't told anyone of Kagome's last thoughts, her final feelings. She wanted to preserve the image of the kind, loving and gentle creature the others had so firmly embedded in their minds. She didn't want them to know that Kagome's last moments had been filled by emotions and thoughts that were anything but kind and gentle. In the end, the purest soul to ever grace this era had known, bitterness, betrayal, and even hatred. Kikyo shuddered, as the memories she'd inherited from the younger miko flashed through her mind. Her eyes wandered, searching out Inuyasha. When had he left the hut? She hadn't noticed. He was probably sitting on the roof again, trying to make himself even more miserable with old memories of the girl he'd failed to protect. She sighed as the thoughts about the hanyou made the love she still felt for him surge through her. _What do we do now, Kagome? What do we do?_

Suddenly she was hit by a wave of nausea, as a terribly familiar feeling hit her. "Jewel shards, badly tainted!" She immediately had everyone's attention. Inuyasha swept through the door. "Where, how many?" He seemed incredibly eager to do anything to keep himself from remembering. Kikyo concentrated on the shards, trying to locate their position. "Their coming directly towards us. No wait." She frowned, concentrating even harder. Suddenly she knew where the shards were headed and who must be behind the event. "They're heading straight for Kagome's grave!"

Three figures stepped into the strangely quiet clearing beneath the Godtree. The first, wearing a white baboon skin cloak, his face concealed by the monkeys skull, chuckled as he stared at the grave. The grave in which a girl lay, that may have matured into a dangerous enemy, but had died a naive nobody. And in death, she would serve him as a weapon to completely destroy her former friends. Naraku turned to his two newest creations. One was small, and appeared to be very young, but his cold eyes spoke of nothing but death and destruction. Hakudoshi, a truly terrifying fighter. The other was a large, burly man, wielding a heavy mace. Where Hakudoshi was fast, devious and cunning, Katsu was only brute strength and fortitude. If everything went as planned, only Katsu would be fighting, Hakudoshi would intervene if necessary. Another chuckle escaped the dark hanyou as he glanced at the grave at his feet. "Well my dear Kagome, who would have thought that you would yourself hand me the means of your dear friends destruction." A snapping noise broke his trail of thought and he looked to the source of the noise. A large group of crows was staring down at him, apparently not in the least bit afraid of his presence. _Odd, usually animals flee when I approach, why do these birds not react._ Once again his thoughts were interrupted, but this time by a snarling white haired guy in red. "Naraku! What the fuck are you doing here. Keh! Who cares, you don't have to answer, I'll just chop you down and take your shards." _Predictable fool. Even left his friends behind in his eagerness to get me. I knew it would pay off to come myself._ "What's wrong Inuyasha, can't I pay my respects to an old friend without you disrupting everything." As expected, Inuyasha bristled, yanking his instantly transforming sword out."You bastard!" he yelled."Kagome was never a friend of yours. You killed her." Naraku smirked. "Yes, and it would never have worked without your assistance, for that I thank you." Inuyasha's eyes flashed red and he attacked without thinking. Naraku and Hakudoshi leaped away, landing on the bows of the Godtree, scattering the crows, which prudently decided to settle in other trees. Katsu however met Inuyasha's attack with a devastating overhead swing, the mace hitting the enraged warrior and slamming him to the ground with a sickening crunch. "Tut tut, Inuyasha. One should always keep ones cool in a battle. Did your brother teach you nothing? Your rash actions will claim your life someday, just like they claimed the life of that wench." Inuyasha roared at that, all semblance of control gone, all he could think of was getting to his fur covered enemy and stuff his mouth. "I'll kill you!" Again that infuriating chuckle. "Oh yes, your good at killing, aren't you? It's too bad you sometimes get the wrong targets." With a bestial snarl, Inuyasha threw himself at his enemy, abandoning all reason, only wanting to tear his enemy apart and feast on his flesh. Usually he would have been horrified at that notion, but at the moment he was all primitive raging youkai, without a trace of human thought, intent on burying his claws in his enemy. Easy pickings for a controlled warrior like Katsu.

When the rest of the pack arrived at the scene, they saw a bloody Inuyasha being smashed into the ground by a large mace-wielding youkai. Inuyashas superior speed had taken him into the fight ahead of all of them, and he was apparently paying for that mistake. His friends stiffened as that sickeningly sweet voice rang across the clearing in a mocking greeting. "Ah, and here are the other misfits, come to rescue their dear friend. Oh wait! Not so dear anymore is he, eh Sango. By the way, your brother sends his regards." Sango flinched and glared at her hated enemy."You're going to pay you pig!" She leaped forward, flinging Hiraikotsu, only to have it caught by Katsu in midflight. Katsu landed on top of the shrine, mimicking Sangos fighting stance. "That's a big toy you've got, doll. Let me have a go." With that Katsu launched the boomerang at the startled Slayer, faster and stronger than she'd ever managed. Luckily his aim was of. So the weapon only grazed her, but that was enough to send her to the ground, clutching her injured arm to her chest. Miroku ran to her side, placing himself between the struggling woman and their enemies. "Ah, the monk", Naraku sneered, "is she the newest whore in your family, the breeder to bring about the next generation of your pitiful line? To carry on the good fight and finally free yourselves from my little gift?" Miroku's eyes narrowed, but he kept calm, not moving from the woman's side. He glanced over at Inuyasha who was a bleeding unconscious heap on the ground. Suddenly all eyes were drawn to Katsu, who howled in pain as an arrow, glowing a bright pink, hit him in the back. Kikyo came out of the trees, firing another arrow as she went, but Katsu jumped of the shrine roof, powerful legs catapulting him into the tree next to Naraku, who calmly pulled the arrow out of his gets back and examined the purity burn. "Not to stunning Kikyo, what's the matter? Having doubts about our purity, are we?" Kikyo scowled, but didn't answer. She slowly walked over to where Inuyasha lay, keeping an arrow ready and aimed at Katsu. She examined Inuyasha's injuries with a glance. _This is not good, his wounds are potentially lethal._ She looked up at her opponents, wondering how they had been able to take Inuyasha out so easily. "How did it feel, Kikyo? How did it feel, to finally be complete again?" Naraku laughed at her. "How did it feel to know Kagome's every thought and memory. I assume that some of her feeling, her final ones in particular, might have been just a trifle distracting. Am I right?" Kikyo tried not to let her worry show, but something must have come through in her expression, because Naraku nodded to himself. "Ah, yes, I see you know what I mean. But you haven't told them yet, have you." He stepped of the branch he was occupying, Hakudoshi and Katsu close behind, and landed silently on the grass below, right next to the lonely grave. He walked towards her casually, ignoring the arrow pointed at him. "You never told them about Kagomes last thoughts, which were not exactly typical for the kind young girl.""SHUT UP!" Naraku stumbled as he was hit by small balls of blue fire. Before he could right himself he was hit by a large paw and flung into the trees of the side of the clearing. Shippo and Kirara had snuck around Naraku and attacked him from behind, taking him by surprise. Kikyo and Miroku took the opportunity and attacked his spawn with blessed ofudas and purifying arrows, but were dismayed when Hakudoshi set up a powerful barrier to protect himself and his 'brother'. Neither seemed at all fazed by the attack on their leader, and Kikyo knew that Shippo and Kirara had only surprised, not really hurt, the evil hanyou. As said creature ambled out of the trees, his baboon cloak now gone, Kikyo and Miroku exchanged concerned glances, each worrying about the injured teammate they were protecting. _If we don't pull this round soon, _Kikyo thought, _this could end really badly._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Resurrection

Naraku felt like celebrating. His plan had worked perfectly. When they worked together, his enemies were a formidable threat, and they probably would have defeated Katsu without many problems. But he had prepared this attack for a year, ever since that annoying wench bit the dust. For a year, he had spied, nudged and schemed with enormous care, keeping himself out of sight, only dropping shards and traces of his scent here and there, using every tool at his disposal to nourish the groups anger and frustration. United they were strong and dangerous, divided they were easy pickings. Every insult, every taunt, every single word he'd said was carefully selected, chosen to drive his enemies over the edge, far enough so that they'd attack him head on.

If that girl had still been around, this strategy probably wouldn't have worked, she'd had a very calming effect on the tachi, seemingly drawing in their agitation and ranting enough for all of them. An evil smile graced his elegant features as he remembered the day this battle had truly been won, the day Kagome had fallen to her death. His red gaze fell on the neko and kitsune that had attacked him. Their attack had caught him of guard, but other than burn and shred his pelt, they hadn't had much of an effect. "Ah, the little fox misses him mommy," he drawled, "don't worry, you'll be joining her soon." He nodded to Hakudoshi, who immediately attacked the two ruthlessly. Miroku tried to help them, but was stopped in his tracks by a brutal swing from Katsu, leaving the monk in a crumpled heap. His remaining enemies dealt with, he returned his attentions to Kikyo. "Well my dear? Where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?" Kikyo glared at him, not ceasing her attempt to heal Inuyasha. She was moderately successful, for the hanyou struggled to his feet, lifting his ancestral blade, the tell-tale swirl of the wind-scar surrounding the weapon. Naraku smirked. "That's the spirit, Inuyasha. Attack me with your wind-scar. Destroy the grave of the woman who loved you, and despised you in her death. Destroy the last remnant of the poor, innocent being that you introduced to the wonderful feeling of hatred." Inuyasha flinched, his will wavering, the wind-scar disappearing.

That moment of hesitation was all Katsu needed. His powerful arm flung the great mace with unerring precision, hitting the distracted hanyou in the chest, the impact sending him flying. But before he hit the ground, Narakus caught him in his tentacles, spun round and slammed him into the god tree, just above the grave. He let him go, only to pin him to the tree with a spike he seemed to fire from his arm. Chuckling, he turned to the distressed miko. "Look familiar?" Laughing at her scowl, he slowly closed in on her, lazily deflecting the meekly glowing arrow she fired at him. "My, my Kikyo, whatever happened to your powers? Kagome never fired an arrow that weak." His smile never left his face as he suddenly attacked, moving with astounding speed. He knocked her bow out of her hands and sent her to the ground with a punch in the face. She lay there, dazed by the strength of the blow, half-aware of the danger she was in. But before she could struggle to her feet, Naraku grabbed a fistful of her hair and dragged her to the grave, where he pushed her face into the dirt. "This is what became of your reincarnation, Kikyo," he drawled. "Aren't you happy?" He laughed like a madman.

Kikyo was not a weak willed woman, but at this moment she was terribly afraid. The man she hated more than anything was practically sitting on her, pushing her face in the grave of a girl she had hated a long time ago. Then she was turned over roughly, her meagre defence greeted by a stinging slap. "Aww, isn't it sad," Naraku sneered. "One of the most powerful mikos, laying in the dirt, unable to defend herself, because she's no longer worthy of her powers." More mad laughter. "But don't worry Kikyo. I won't kill you." His grin was beyond simple evil. "I think I'm going to keep you, as a toy of sorts." One of his hands grabbed her wrists, while the other started to fondle her breasts through her clothing. "I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with you." Panicking, Kikyo managed to free one of her hands and claw at his face, infusing enough purifying energy in the attack to cause him pain, but unfortunately not enough to really hurt him. His answer was another punch. Then he grabbed both her wrists and forced them above her head. He pulled a dagger from his obi, and with bestial brutality, drove it through her wrists, nailing her to the ground.

She screamed in agonizing pain, and he seemed to drink her screams in like fine wine, grinning maniacally. With jerk of his arms he ripped her obi open, exposing her breasts. He began fondling and licking them, pausing only to whisper "Yes Kikyo, scream for me, scream as you are taken right in front of the man you love." He glanced up at the unconscious hanyou, hanging from the Godtree, before he returned to Kikyos breasts, on hand slowly moving down her belly. Through the pain and the fear and the blood loss, Kikyo could hardly move. Only her mind worked frantically, praying, begging. _Please, please save us! Make him stop, I'll do anything, but please just stop him, please, please! _

And she received an answer. And the voice that answered her was so incredibly familiar that it shocked her out of her stupor and panic. It was a voice she felt she knew better than her own, a voice that was usually always filled with emotions of some kind, seemingly unable to hide them. A voice that was now filled with a dreadful malice. _You should be careful what you wish for, bitch. You just might get it._

In a fountain of dirt, a fist shot out of the grave, just next to Kikyo's head, hitting Naraku squarely in the face, throwing him of the terrified woman. A new aura filled the clearing, and all the crows in the surrounding trees started cawing in unison. The aura was immense, stunning everyone in the clearing, even Hakudoshi and Katsu, who where torturing the others. Naraku jerked to his feet unsteadily, shuffling backwards, a look of blatant disbelieve on his handsome features. The hand was pale, as white as snow, with black stripes at the wrists, slender fingers ending in black claws. The hand moved down, closing around one of Kikyo's breasts. It was soon joined by another hand, pushing itself from the dirt, which settled on Kikyo's belly. Slowly, Kikyo was pushed upright, and it seemed as if she was pulling a body from the grave, as if it was using her for support, and not the other way around. The body was slender small, leaving Kikyo almost a full head taller when it was fully free of the clinging grave soil. The skin was pale all over, contrasting sharply with the raven black hair. Rotting clothes still clung to her, but she was not decayed in any way. Her skin looked as if it had been freshly bathed. When the creature lifted its head and stared at Naraku, he was stunned. "No," he stammered," no, no. It can't be. I killed you!" He pointed at her with trembling fingers. "There was no spell, no magic, nothing!" He seemed truly terrified, as those cold, blue eyes met his own. Kikyo, on the verge of unconsciousness, could only stare in horror at the being that held her in a gentle lovers embrace. _It can't be. It can't be. It can't be. _ That was the only thought her semi-conscious mind could form. The ice-blue eyes flashed at her, seeming to sear her...their?...soul. A cruel smile formed on the pale lips that adorned a flawlessly beautiful face. "Oh yes, Kikyo. It most definitely is me. You can't get rid of me that easily." With that she yanked the dagger from her hands and the resulting pain that shot through Kikyo's body finally sent her into blissful oblivion.

For Naraku the situation was a bit different. He stood there, staring at the face a woman he thought he had killed. Again. But this wasn't like Kikyo's return. This creature was fully alive. He was struggling to find his wits again, as the woman simply dropped Kikyo's body to the ground and slowly walked towards him, only glancing at Katsu and Hakudoshi and the various members of the inu tachi strewn across the clearing. He staggered back a few steps, trying to keep the distance between himself and ... whatever... she was. Something within him told him that he did not want to be too close to this enemy. Pale lips turned up in a smile. "Well, Naraku? What's wrong? Don't you recognize me?" Her voice was like HER voice, but it didn't have any of the usual emotions in it, only a hard edge that promised pain to those who would antagonize it. Narakus eyes flickered to Hakudoshi and Katsu, and they both understood the message, attacking immediately. Neither of them came even close. Hakudoshi went under in a ball of clawed, scaly limbs and snapping jaws, and Katsu was attacked by a massive swarm of crows, their talons and beaks tearing at his skin, hacking for his eyes. The spectre that had risen from the grave smirked at the spectacle before she returned her attention to a disbelieving Naraku. "Looks like your newest pets are out of the way for now, leaving us enough time to get reacquainted." She glanced back at the two creations "One the other hand, maybe I should just kill you and be done with it. I think that's what I'll do." With a flick of her wrist, the dagger he had used on Kikyo came flying at him, embedding itself in his shoulder. Her other hand shot out and strange whip of sorts that seemed to just appear out of nowhere slashed across his chest, tearing chunks of skin and flesh from his body. He howled in pain, jumping backwards, firing spines, tentacles and miasma at her, just trying to get away from this strange, new threat. He noticed quickly that the wounds from that whip healed agonizingly slowly, and burned like acid.

He flicked another glance at Katsu and Hakudoshi who were still both struggling with their attackers. Naraku quickly decided that he would have to leave the two behind to save himself. Appearing in person suddenly didn't seem like a very good idea anymore, no matter how careful his preparations had been. Scowling he let loose a powerful cloud of miasma, taking to the air in its cover and making a run for it, but not without that terrible whip scoring another hit. It tore a deep gash in one of his legs, almost severing the limb. The pain was excruciating, but Naraku managed to keep his focus and escape. Hakudoshi and Katsu had been two of his better creations, but they were worthless compared to him.

Said creations didn't notice straight away that their master had abandoned them, only when the attacking creatures retreated to the mysterious woman's side did they realize that Naraku was long gone. The strange female was standing there, surrounded by crows and other, stranger beings. Hakudoshi first thought them to be Kappa, river demons, but he quickly realized that the resemblance was minimal. The imp-like creatures weren't overly tall only reaching the woman's hip. Their limbs were thin but strong and their hands ended in sturdy claws. They were generally skinny, and their heads appeared to consist mainly of shiny, red eyes, a large, fang filled mouth, and large, flappy ears. Their arms, which were covered by green scales, ended in hands tipped with deadly claws. Hakudoshi was still bleeding from the gashes said claws had left in his skin. The woman stared at him and his 'brother.' She looked like the girl Naraku had described to him, apart from the eyes. At that moment a slight ripple seemed to pass over her body. It seemed as if she hadn't completely finished changing. "Well," she said."Let's see what you to have to offer." A flutter went through the crows and the strange creatures giggled, their eyes flashing with eager malice. The woman grinned at Hakudoshi, showing gleaming fangs, and her eyes flashed. "Play with me!" She attacked.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Aftershock

Kouga was doing what he always did. He was running. Also as usual he was running into trouble. He had been on his way to Edo, to pay his respects at the grave of the woman he had desired for so long, but had lost to that most ruthless of rivals, death. But as he ran, Ginta and Hakkaku on his heels, he suddenly caught Naraku's scent. When he determined that the scent led into the same direction he had been going, he pulled out all stops, shooting of at an incredible speed, leaving his complaining henchmen far behind. He raced towards the confrontation, hoping to get revenge for his losses. He soon also caught the scents of Inuyasha and his comrades. It soon became obvious that the confrontation was taking place at Kagome's gravesite. Trying to ignore the deep sense of foreboding that welled up within him, he pressed on, willing his legs to move even faster.

Suddenly a different scent caught his attention, and a powerful aura seemed to spring up from nowhere. When he recognised that scent, he stumbled, almost falling. He caught himself and gaped in the direction the scent came from. The implications of that particular scent hit his mind like an out-of-control freight train (a small part of his mind remembered that Kagome had once used that strange phrase to describe effect the sight of the fully nude slayer had on the lecherous monk, very much like the impact of her boomerang a second later). The scent was slightly different from what he remembered, and seemed to shift slightly as he tried to gather his wits, but it was still _her_ scent, he'd have recognised it anywhere. _Kagome?_ The familiar started of a wild storm of emotions in the wolf prince. The love that had never truly vanished, hope, elation, fear and roaring anticipation all mixed in one massive smelting pot, overpowering his common sense, sending him hurtling in the direction of the scent, running faster than he'd ever run before.

When he finally reached the clearing, his worry and foreboding returned, stronger than before. The clearing beneath the great tree had become a battlefield. The jewel crew had obviously been beaten, but a quick check showed that they were still alive, even if badly wounded. Miroku lay slumped over the slayer, Shippo lay in a bloody pile in the wreckage of Kagome's shrine, with a meekly stirring Kirara close beside him. Inuyasha was in the worst condition, hanging from the tree by a bony spike embedded in his shoulder. Below him, lying on Kagome's form, was Kikyo, naked and bloody. She had rough bandages an her wrist, but a large amount of blood had seeped through them. Kouga eyes drifted to the only body that wasn't part of the group. It was the body of a huge man, or what was left of it. A mace had been driven through his body, leaving his chest a bloody, gaping mess. And his head had been removed and was nowhere to be seen.

Kouga quickly realised that Naraku was gone, but Kagome's tantalizing scent of rain and riverside was still there. Following it, he realized that it went off in the direction of that strange well. He looked back at the tachi's bodies. They obviously needed help, but that terribly wonderful scent pulled him on. He started towards Sango and Miroku, but when he noted the scent of the old miko approaching, he decided to follow - Kagome's ? - scent. He told himself that Kaede would be able to treat them much better than him, and that she would be here before long. Fighting down the surge of guilt, he sped off.

Moments later he blew into another clearing a stones' throw from the Godtree. Immediately his eyes sought out the figure standing next to the strange well. The woman was wearing a blood stained miko outfit. Her back was turned towards him, showing off her long, blacker than black, hair. He started towards here, stopping a few feet away from her. "Ka - Kagome? Is that really you?" Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the woman turned, and Kouga's eyes widened even further as he saw her face. The face was Kagome's, but instead a soothing brown, her eyes were a painful blue. And he thought he saw just the faintest traces of youkai like markings on her face, on her cheeks and on her forehead above her eyes, partially covered by her bangs. "Kouga." It was _her_ voice, but only in tone. It was the voice that stunned Kouga more than anything else. It was cold, sending a chill up his spine. It reminded him more of the cold Western Lord, Inuyasha's emotionless half brother, than the boisterous young woman he had come to love. "Shouldn't you be taking care of the others?" the cold voice asked. "Shippo, Kirara and the other two will probably be ok, but Inuyasha and Kikyo might just bleed to death if they don't get help soon." Alright, what she said in that voice scared him even more. "You're not Kagome." A sardonic smile crossed her lips. "I'm more Kagome than Kagome ever was." She turned back to the well and ran a hand along its rim. Only then did he notice that her delicate fingers ended in shiny black claws. Anger began to war with worry within him. "The real Kagome would never leave someone behind like that! You're just some demon or spirit using her body!" Her laughter rang through the clearing, and it's icy edge made him take another step back. The sound was echoed by the cawing of many crows and raucous chuckling. Kouga whirled around, looking for the source of the noise. "Oh, don't mind them, they're with me." He spun, only to stare right into her eyes. He gasped at the sudden proximity, staggering backwards. "It's fortunate that you're here. I need something from you, and this saves me the trouble of tracking you down." A black clawed hand reached for him and he leaped away from her, quite convinced that he was facing some imposter. "I won't give you anything except a beating. Get out of that body and let Kagome rest peace!" Her eyes narrowed in irritation, her lips parting in a growl. "I AM Kagome you idiot, and believe me, my rest was far from peaceful." Kouga felt more than saw a strange ripple pass through her agitated aura, and the markings on her face seemed to darken slightly, becoming more opaque. "I don't really have a problem with you Kouga, but if you think you have to fight me, I won't hesitate to skin you," she bit out, "so I suggest you save your sorry ass now and just give me the shards in your legs!" Kouga dropped into a low stance, trying to find her hidden associates, while keeping an eye on her movements. "I knew it! You're after the jewel shards and you want to use Kagome to find them!" Something about that accusation didn't sit too well with her. With a feral snarl, the suddenly enraged woman's left hand snapped out, and a strange strand of dark violet light snaked out at him. Kouga leaped, dodging the strange attack, only to be hit by a similar strand extending from her other hand. The whip like appendage shattered his armour and cut into his flesh, slamming him on the ground, hard. The cut wasn't deep, but it hurt like a brand. Gritting his teeth, Kouga struggled to get back up, but a dozen clawed hands pushed him back, face down into the dirt. He managed to twist his heat around to at least see his attackers. He looked into a pair of gleaming red eyes, above a fanged grin. He struggled but the strange creatures chuckled at him, and he felt three more jump down on to his back to hold him still. They had a strange reptilian scent, with just a hint of Kagome's soothing scent. He struggled to get them of him, but their deceptively thin arms were surprisingly strong. He caught a glimpse of the woman moving towards him, fangs bared in an evil grin. "Aren't they adorable? My little friends." She reached out to stroke the tuft of scraggly white hair on one of the creatures heads, and the thing practically purred with pleasure. "But I forget my manners." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "It's rude to leave an old friend in such an uncomfortable position for any longer than necessary." She drew a wickedly curved dagger from her obi. His eyes widened and he started to growl and struggle frantically. "Get away from me you crazy bitch! If you MPF!" Two clawed hands had clamped over his mouth, muffling his threats. "Now dear," her voice almost motherly, "the more you struggle, the more this will hurt." The grin returned. "So by all means, feel free to go crazy." After that, the silence of the well clearing was only broken by Kouga's muffled screams.

When a huffing and panting Kaede finally reached the clearing, It was only about thirty minutes after an enraged Inuyasha had taken off on his own, cursing. Hampered by her age, Kaede had taken far longer to reach the clearing. She had cursed her frail body and cursed her age, but in this case however, her age turned out to be a blessing. The sight that met her stunned her. The people she saw as family had been badly beaten, their unmoving shapes strewn across the clearing. Her fear froze her briefly, before years of training kicked in and she rushed around the clearing, her weariness forgotten, seeing to their wounds.

She heard the sound of something crashing through the underbrush, and quickly reached for her bow, drawing and nocking an arrow in practiced moves. She relaxed when she saw Ginta and Hakkaku stumbling into the clearing, out of breath and complaining about what they saw as Kouga's most annoying habit. They stopped dead when they saw the state things. For a few seconds everything was silent while the two took everything in. "Where's Kouga!" they both jelled at the same time. Just then, Kouga's voice broke through the silence. "Get away from me you crazy bitch! If you MPF!" The two wolves shot off in the direction that the voice had come from like bolts of thunder. Kaede followed at a more sedated pace, first making sure that her family was safe. When she approached the clearing of the Bone Eater's Well, she had her bow ready, a pale pink light gleaming around the tip. She arrived just in time to see Ginta join his pack brother in a tangled pile on the ground. Her gaze whipped about to find the attacker, but she froze when she saw _her_. _It can't be._ Her bow fell from nerveless fingers, as she gaped at the woman bending down to Kouga, who had been subdued by a group of strange creatures. His face was twisted into an expression of pain, and he was trying to scream through the hands that were covering his mouth. "No...not again, this can't be" Kaede stammered, as she realized just who was hurting Kouga. "Kagome?" The woman looked up and their eyes met. "Hello, Kaede." She got up from her gruesome work, wiping the dagger's blade clean on her haori before stowing it away in her obi. "I must say it's nice to see you again. Did you take care of the others?" Before Kaede could answer, or even make enough sense of her muddled mind to even think of one, Kouga, now released, but still on the ground, struggling to get up, started yelling in pain and outrage. "That's NOT Kagome! That's some akuma that stole Kagome's body!" The friendly smile was wiped of Kagome's face and she glared at the subdued wolf. "Think what you want. I've got what I needed from you." Her aura shifted, changing ever so slightly, and the markings on her face grew darker. "Without your shards you're worthless and weak, so just shut up before I cut your tongue out as well!" She looked back at Kaede, who was shocked both at Kagome's voice and her words. "Sorry about that Kaede, it's been nice, but I've got to go. Places to go, people to see, you know how that is." She turned and looked to the west. "Oh, and one more thing." She looked over her shoulder at Kaede, her face expressionless. "If Inuyasha survives, tell him I accept his offer." With that she leapt twenty feet straight up into the air, hovered in place for a moment as her helpers flew up to follow her, the little demons being pulled along by strands of light that flowed from her body. With a last glance at the old woman, she shot of into the west, a large flock of crows following in her wake.

Kaede stared after the woman, her mind devoid of thoughts. A pained groan and the sound of a body hitting the ground brought her out of her stupor. Kouga had collapsed, fainting from blood loss and pain. Once again she let her training take over and banished all that had happened from her mind. She'd have plenty of time to go over everything later. Now, she had work to do.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Painful awakenings

Inuyasha's return to consciousness was slow and painful. His body ached in a thousand places. His shoulder was strangely numb, which was rather pleasant compared to the rest of him. His mind was wandering between waking and dreaming, catching snatches of conversations and snippets of dreams or memories. Faces appeared before his mind's eye before fading into blackness again. Kikyo, his mother, Sesshoumaru, Kaede and others, but the face he saw most often was hers.

Kagome, lying were she'd fallen, staring at him with scared and disbelieving eyes, Mukadejouro, the centipede demon, rushing towards her.  
Kagome, wearing his fire rat clothing, stabbing at a strange skull with an arrow, while Yura of Hair swooped in to kill him.  
Kagome, being carried off by Kouga shortly after they'd met for the first time.  
Kagome, heaving her huge, yellow backpack over the edge of the well.  
Kagome, trying to sneak back to said well to get back home.  
Kagome, smashing him to the ground with a sit-marathon when he tried to block the well with a rock, said rock landing on top of him.  
Kagome, running towards him, arms outstretched, after the battle against the jewel enhanced Rouyakan.  
Kagome, promising never to leave him.  
Kagome, smiling at him.  
Kagome, yelling at him.  
Kagome, falling to her death.  
Kagome, disappearing into a grave.  
Kagome, staring at him with cold, blue eyes.  
Kagome, telling him that she would kill him.

He jerked upright, his eyes snapping open, and almost fainted from the pain the movement caused.

"Yow! What the..", he slurred. He blinked, seeing stars, trying to focus on his surroundings. He was lying in a hut that he quickly recognised as Kaede's, his bare torso was covered in bandages, making it difficult to move, not that he'd be going anywhere anyway in that kind of pain. His mind was still hazy, and he couldn't remember why he was injured.

"Oi," a voice he really did not want to hear right now hissed at him, "some people are trying to sleep here, so can it."

Kouga was leaning against a wall opposite of Inuyasha, his legs also covered in bandages. Inuyasha glared at him, opening his mouth for what was going to be a very loud retort, but Kouga lifted a hand to quiet him and motioned to the other side of the hut, where Kikyo, Shippo, Sango and Miroku lay on the futons each one of them sporting visible injuries.

"What the..." Inuyasha struggled against the haze in his mind, trying to remember what had happened. "Naraku." Kouga had guessed the hanyous problem. "That bastard kicked your asses good." Inuyasha winced as the memories of the beating he'd received slowly came to the surface of the muddy pond of his jumbled thoughts. He turned to look at the woman lying next to him, noting her bandaged arms. 'Kikyo.'

Her face was calm and her breathing regular, so hopefully her dreams were too. He looked up at Kouga. "So did you save us then? Sorry, but I can't really believe that." The wolf scowled. "You could be right there, asshole. If it were just you, I'd probably leave you to die." He snorted and looked away. "And no, I didn't save you, the old miko did." He glanced out of the huts door. "Or at least," he continued, " she kept you from dying. I was a bit late." He ignored Inuyasha's "as usual".

"When I got there, the clearing looked like a battlefield. You were stuck to a tree, your wench and the others were lying around covered in blood, some big guy had been impaled on a big mace and was missing his head", he said pointedly. Inuyasha was trying to align Kouga's information with his scrambled memories, without much success. "The old hag said that the monk and slayer will recover, though they'll both need some time, they've both got several broken bones." He looked at Shippo's small form, huddled in his blanket. "The fox will take even longer, even though he's youkai, Naraku did a real job on him."

Inuyasha shook his head, finally getting some clarity into is muddled brain.

"No, I don't think that, that was Naraku. That kid..." he broke off trying to focus on the memory of the strange boy that had accompanied Naraku. Kouga frowned. " Didn't see a kid, aside from Shippo. Probably bailed with Naraku." Inuyasha shifted, trying to find a more comfortable, or less uncomfortable, position. "Maybe."

He glanced at Kouga's legs. "If you got in late, what happened to you?" Kouga scowled and looked away, not answering. Inuyasha frowned. "What's up with you?" When Kouga didn't answer, Inuyasha snorted and looked away.

"She did that to you." Both men looked down at the woman who had spoken. Kikyo's eyes were open and fixed on the ceiling. Kouga stared at her, seemingly caught in some inner conflict. Inuyasha's relief at Kikyo's awakening hat turned first to confusion, then to annoyance. "Who? Who did it? Who are you talking about." Kikyo turned to look at him, and Inuyasha tried in vain to decipher her expression. The word she said, the name she uttered was like a thundering bell to Inuyasha's mind.

"Kagome."

Inuyasha's mind screamed.

_  
Hakudoshi's return to consciousness was a bucket of water. The icy liquid splashed onto his face and he leaped up, coughing and spluttering looking for the source of the wet menace. His angry gaze roved around until it met ice blue eyes and he felt his anger dissipate quickly.

"You!" His outburst was answered by a mocking chuckle. "Me." He recognised the woman immediately, even with the strange markings on her face and the new outfit. She was wearing a bloodstained miko garb, and watched him with a strange look of curiosity on her face that was mimicked by the crow on her shoulder.

Hakudoshi climbed to his feet slowly, taking in his surroundings without losing sight of the woman. They were beside a river flowing through a large, empty field. A few derelict huts in the distance were the only sign of human habitation. He had seen the woman's speed and knew that he would not be able to escape her should he try to flee. Fighting was out of the question, Katsu had been stronger than him, and she had killed him without much difficulty. No, he'd have to wait and see what she needed of him, so he just stared at her and waited. After a few minutes of silence she spoke.

"What's your name?" Hakudoshi was mildly surprised at the question, but was careful not to let that show. "Why do you want to know? And why am I still alive? What do you want with me?" The woman frowned. "I ask you one question and you answer with three questions. Are you always so inquisitive?" He raised an eyebrow. "Usually not, but I rarely find myself in situations like this."

Hakudoshi studied her face and the markings she hadn't had during the fight. "What exactly are you? Are you really that miko Naraku killed a year ago?" She looked at him, a strange expression on her face. "I am her. Or, more precisely, an enlightened version of her." She looked up at the sky, the black of night slowly fading into the pale blue of morning. "That's probably how you could describe it. Death was enlightening." She chuckled. "I met some interesting... people." She shook her head and looked back at him.

"Anyway, to answer your questions: Because I don't want to call you 'kid' all the time, because I haven't killed you yet and because I want to make you an offer." She crossed her arms and smiled at him. Somehow that smile worried Hakudoshi more than a snarl. "What exactly is this offer, and do I really have a choice in the matter?" She laughed, and Hakudoshi found the sound strangely fascinating though he could not say why.

"First of all, of course you have a choice. My offer is simple. I want you to work for me." The way she said it, the way the tone of her voice reminded him of a stalking cat, made Hakudoshi pause. "Let me guess," he said slowly, "I can choose between servitude and death, right?" She didn't answer him, but her wide grin was all the answer he needed. There wasn't much to think about. "Well then, how may I serve you, _my lady_." His voice dripped with sarcasm, making her laugh again. "Very good choice. Don't worry, I think I'm a better master than Naraku. Plus, you'll discover that serving me has certain fringe benefits."

"For example?" Hakudoshi was genuinely curious. She smiled and lifted an eyebrow. "Not so fast my little friend. I've already given you a lot, and I still don't know your name." Now Hakudoshi was smiling, amused that a being that was capable of extreme cruelty, could suddenly behave like a pouting girl. "My name is Hakudoshi. So, you were telling me how I would profit from serving you."

"Unlike Naraku, I reward those who serve me. And the first reward will be to severe the mind link that binds you to that disgusting spider." He blinked, genuinely surprised. "Mind link?" She nodded absently. "Of course, Naraku always wants to be in control, so he makes sure that he always has some way of checking on his creatures." She smiled again, the smile filled with a kind of wicked pleasure. "Luckily he doesn't keep your heart, like he does with Kagura. That would make things difficult."

Hakudoshi glared at her. "I assume there's some sort of drawback somewhere." The evil smile turned into a wide grin. "Well yes. It'll be a bit painful. But don't be afraid," she chuckled, "I'll work as quickly and carefully as I can." He narrowed his eyes. "I presume this isn't up for debate." She grinned, blue eyes sparkling with wicked mirth. "I'm afraid not." She lifted a hand, surrounded by a violet glow. Hakudoshi grunted. "Let's get it over with."

"Brave boy, I think I made a good choice too." She walked towards him, humming to herself. She reached out, her hand hovering over his head. "But you'd better brace yourself," the smile turned evil again, an eager light brightening her eyes even further, "'cause this is really going to hurt." _

A few hours travel from their position, the western lord paused in midstride as he felt a strange aura. It was strangely familiar to him, but he couldn't place it immediately, nor could he tell if it was human or youkai, and that intrigued him. He concentrated, trying to pinpoint the auras position. It was on his lands, near the border in the direction of Inuyasha's forest.

"Sesshoumaru-sama is something wrong?" His retainers voice broke the silence. Sesshoumaru turned to regard his pack, the diminutive kappa, Jaken, his human ward, Rin, and the two-headed dragon steed, which had been named Ah-Uhn by the little girl. He turned back to the east without answering, turning his focus back on the strange aura. That intriguing familiarity piqued his curiosity and he decided to investigate.

"Rin, ride Ah-Uhn." The girl broke into her usual toothy grin. "Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama! You should come too, Jaken-sama," she sang and scampered to the dragon whose heads regarded her with amused eyes. Jaken followed her, grumbling under his breath about annoying human brats. "Jaken." The kappa whirled and prostrated himself. "I'm sorry Sesshoumaru-sama! I will protect the girl as usual!" Sesshoumaru hnnd, secretly amused about his retainers behaviour. He formed his youki-cloud and took to the air, his pack close behind, heading for the strange aura.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Unexpected Developments

On hill in the middle of a forest lay a castle, shrouded in noxious fumes. Nothing moved around the castle or in the castle courtyard. It looked deserted, part of it already falling into ruin. But in a small chamber within that castle, Kagura lay huddled in a corner. She was terrified.

Naraku hadn't trusted her enough to take her with him when he left for Edo, taking his two newest creations instead. Considering the circumstances, Kagura had been fairly certain that her creator and dictator would be victorious, cutting her chances of freedom in half. But when he had returned alone and in a sour mood, she had been relieved at first. So relieved in fact, that she had let a few barely veiled insults slip before she could stop herself, making Naraku focus his anger on her.

She had erred badly. Naraku was not merely annoyed, he was livid. For the first time he had really lost control, almost killing her in his rage. Now she lay in a corner of her room, bloody, torn and barely conscious, having managed to drag herself there after Naraku had vented his anger and stormed off, leaving her in a pool of her own blood. Kagura had known fear and abuse, but it had never been this bad. Usually he only tormented her to hear her beg and plead for her life, but this time he hadn't stopped there lashing and beating her within an inch of her life.

She was shaking with fear and pain, certain that the creature she hated and feared more than anything else would return and finish her off, having finally decided that she couldn't amuse him anymore. So when she heard the door of her room slide open, she huddled even deeper into the corner, her fear spiking. She relaxed slightly when she recognised Kanna's soft steps on the floor mats, and felt her small hand touch her shoulder lightly. A quiet shuffle at the door told her that Kohaku, the former slayer turned slave, was with her, but didn't enter the room. Kagura attempted to get on her knees at least, but Kanna's gentle but insistent hand made her lie on her back, putting a cushion under her head with the other. "Don't force yourself, you are badly wounded and could die if you're not careful." The voice of her "sister" sounded cold, void of emotion, just like her face and eyes never showed emotions.

But Kagura knew that Kanna had emotions, but was unable to really display or express her feelings. Kagura stared at her sister, noting her porcelain features and omnipresent mirror. "He-he almost k-killed me," she stammered. Kohaku walked up to them, set a bowl of warm water next to Kanna, handed her a cloth rag and left, sliding the screen shut behind him. Kanna laid her mirror beside her, and helped Kagura out of her torn clothes. A tiny hint of disapproval flashed in Kanna's eyes as she beheld the full extent of Kagura's wounds. But she didn't say anything as she began to clean the fresh lacerations that marred her sisters body.

After a few minutes the sniffing wind youkai was calm enough to speak clearly. "I've never seen, Naraku so angry. Something's gone wrong, really wrong." Kanna said nothing as she cleaned Kagura's face. Kagura had gotten used to Kanna's demeanour so she just waited. The void child inspected her sisters face and, satisfied with her work, dropped the rag into the bloody water and retrieved her mirror. "I wasn't able to see the whole confrontation, something was disturbing my view, but I can tell you that Naraku had almost won when someone attacked him." She got up and walked to the door, slide it open and spoke quietly with Kohaku, who nodded and left. She returned to Kagura's side and resumed her narration. "Naraku fled the scene, leaving Katsu and Hakudoshi behind." Kagura snorted and winced at the pain that caused. "No surprise there, to him we're just expendable trash."

"Did you recognize the attacker?" Kanna didn't answer immediately, only stared at Kagura with those dead black eyes of hers. "I'm not sure," she said at length. She glanced at the mirror, the shiny object held securely in her tiny hands. "I'm not sure," she said again, looking up, "but I think it was the Shikon Miko." Kagura frowned, confused. "Kikyo? I thought Naraku said she wasn't going the be a problem?" Kanna shook her head slowly, lifting her mirror. "I didn't say Kikyo, I said the Shikon Miko." Kagura's gaze was drawn to the mirror as it started glowing, underlining Kanna's words with pictures. The wind youkai gazed intently at the mirror, her fear and pain forgotten, her eyes widening with disbelief. "It can't be."  
_

Naraku stood by a window, staring out at the murky forest, trying to marshal his thoughts. He had calmed down sufficiently after letting of some steam on Kagura. He couldn't care less about the pain he'd caused his creation, she was just as worthless as Katsu had turned out to be. He knew that Hakudoshi was still alive and had probably escaped, and planned to send out his saimyoshu to find him, but right now he had to think.

To say that the wenches return had surprised him would have been a gross understatement. After Kikyo's return from the dead he wasn't a stranger to resurrections anymore, he had even done it himself. But this form of resurrection was completely new to him. He hated being uninformed about something, it made him feel vulnerable. For even though Naraku was powerful he had no illusions that other youkai held more power than him. His greatest assets were his mind, his practically unlimited patience and that he was always one step ahead of his enemy. The latter was only possible if he was informed. He hated surprises, they always meant that something beyond his control had happened.

While the nature of Kagome's resurrection puzzled him, the changes she'd obviously undergone astounded him. Firstly there was her new power, the extent of which he couldn't fathom yet. But the really big changes had been the ones to her personality. Like the way she'd just yanked the dagger from Kikyo's arms and then dropped her into the dirt. He was sure that it really was Kagome, for the shikon no tama had recognized her immediately.

He paused. That was another thing. He wasn't sure, but he thought that Kagome could have taken his part of the jewel from him if she'd wanted, but she had actually let him escape with it, and that really confused him. He could not think of a valid reason why she would not want to take the shikon from him. He pulled the jewel for his haori, studying its jagged edge on one side and the perfect roundness on the other. He opened his mind to the trinket, searching for the evil presence of the youkai banished within its shiny form. He was surprised to find that both the youkai and the miko within the jewel were deeply unsettled. He couldn't find the cause of that, for he was unable to communicate with Magatsuhi.

He was still pondering that problem, when his mind was set on fire. He reeled, his vision blurring and his knees giving out. He lay on his side, his head threatening to explode. He tried to concentrate through the pain, attempting to find the source. He quickly realised that it was coming through Hakudoshi's mental link. Apparently someone (and he had an idea who) was torturing the boy, using said link to send the pain of the servant to the master. Instinctively he cut the connection, savagely severing all ties to his creation and the pain stopped abruptly.

Naraku staggered back to his feet, panting heavily, leaning against a wall for support. He was wondering how the wench, if it had been her, had known how to manipulate the connection in that way. 'So, Hakudoshi is dead as well, eh?' He frowned. 'I must hasten my plans then.' Once he'd recovered from the pain, he stalked down the hallway, heading for the castle's basement, muttering to himself.  
_

Far away, a satisfied little smirk crossed pale lips as Kagome surveyed her work. Hakudoshi was unconscious again, the pain having overwhelmed him. She was impressed that the boy hadn't screamed, the pain had to have been intense. She knew that she had given Naraku quite a headache, and that improved her already good mood. 'One down, one to go.' Now she would wait for Hakudoshi to wake up and her servants to return and then move on to the location her minions had prepared prior to her rebirth.

She was satisfied with the way events were unfolding, her plans were processing wonderfully. Soon her associates would join her in the material realm and they would proceed with the next phase of their plan. The chattering of her reptilian servants caught her attention. The kobolds, as she called them, had been sent to find food and clothing for her and their newest colleague, and from what she could see they had been successful. The little creatures scuttled up to her, laying their burdens at her feet. They had brought fish, rice and a selection of clothes, from ordinary peasant clothes to a samurais armour. She quickly searched through their memories to see if her orders had been obeyed, for they had been told to be careful, to steal but not kill if it wasn't necessary. They had stolen just about everything that hadn't been nailed down, as long as it fit her wishes.

Two of them had been surprised by a samurai and cut down before they could react, but the others had quickly counterattacked and bludgeoned the man into unconsciousness. Then they'd relieved him of his possessions, minus his sword. That had been more for revenge than anything else, for the armour was definitely too big for the slender woman. She considered her minions, and thought about the two that had been slain.

It wasn't much of a surprise that they had been defeated. She had not created her little kobolds as fighters, but as servants and workers. If they had the element of surprise, superior numbers or at least a powerful ally, they could defeat most enemies, but on their own and in a direct confrontation the story was different. She decided that she would have to make new creatures to serve as fighters.

Her train of thought was interrupted when one of her crows alerted her that a powerful aura was towards her and closing quickly. Her crows had spread out in the area around her, serving as extensions of her senses, allowing her to easily survey a large area. She concentrated, trying to get a clear reading on the approaching aura. When she recognised it she tensed. She had known that this confrontation would come eventually, because she could only achieve her goals in the western lands, but she had hoped that she would be able to choose when and where it would take place, and that she would be prepared. The western lord, the merciless Killing Perfection was not to be taken lightly, for he was one of the most powerful youkai in all the lands. Her kobolds sensed their mistresses tension and gathered around her, ready to pounce on everything that would harm their lady. That didn't really ease her worries. She was not yet ready for this, should the confrontation get violent she wouldn't be able to beat the firstborn son of the great dog general.

Her transformation was not yet complete, and she had nothing but her servants to help her. Her only choice was to convince Sesshoumaru that she was no threat to him or his lands. She knew that she might be able to call upon her associates to help her, but that might cause problems in the spiritual realm and problems of that sort were the last thing they wanted at the moment. And while she did have a weapon, it was too dangerous to use it or even bring it into this world while she was still part human. No, this confrontation would not be decided by force, but by words. And maybe a bit of sorcery.

Judging by the speed he was travelling at, he would reach her within minutes, and she knew that she could not yet beat or even match that speed, making escape by normal means impossible. But she had other options. Using that particular spell while not fully changed would be tiring, considering the distance she would have to go, slowing her plans down, but it might turn out to be necessary. She had just begun to prepare the spell in her mind when she noticed the daiyoukai's telltale cloud speeding over the treetops. For the first time since Kagome returned to this world, she was worried.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Intentions

Sesshoumaru was careful not to show any of the surprise he felt on his face as he landed about twenty feet from a strange sight. A group of reptilian imp-like creatures was crowded around a woman he had thought dead, and a cluster of cawing crows circled in the air above them. For safety's sake he had ordered Jaken to keep Ah-Uhn and Rin a fair distance from the confrontation. The two regarded each other in silence for several minutes before the woman finally spoke up.

"Well, long time no see, Sesshoumaru-sama." The daiyoukai didn't answer right away, he was occupied with examining the woman's scent and aura, trying to discern if she was who she appeared to be. "Still as talkative as ever I see," she said with a sigh, "I guess some things never change." Despite a few changes to both scent and aura he was fairly sure that it really was the miko whose grave he had visited, but that didn't entice him to let down his guard. Nothing ever did that, with the possible exception of Rin.  
_

In a realm that was both far away and nearby, five strange figures stood around a pond of pristine water, that mirrored the meeting between the resurrected woman and the western lord. They spoke briefly, regarding the scene with a peculiar intensity. Each one of the spectators spoke in a different language, some smooth and harmonious, others harsh and guttural. But even though each language was different, they seemed to have no trouble understanding each other. This is what they said.

"This could be a problem, he is distrustful and she cannot yet match his power." The voice was quiet and reserved, speaking in a language that flowed like water. "Do you think we should intervene?" another voice inquired, this one speaking in a very musical language that made one think of strange and exotic places. "Only if absolutely necessary. If we are not careful with our actions we could do more harm than good." This voice was hard and strong, just like the language it used, which sounded was guttural and aggressive. "Do not worry, I am certain that our friend has already taken steps to ensure her survival." This voice was clearly female, soft and calming, yet with an undertone that suggested steel beneath silk, and spoke in a language that was even smoother than the first.  
"I agree," yet another voice said, speaking in a choppy monotone language. "She has shown that she is quite capable of handling herself, but I think we should at least be prepared to act, should the need arise?" The other voices murmured their agreement, and once again silence returned to the strange pool.  
_

The two were still regarding each other in silence, neither one displaying any emotions. Finally Sesshoumaru spoke. "Explain yourself, woman." She frowned at that. "I do have a name you know. I think I have had enough of 'woman', 'wench', 'bitch' or 'hey you' to last a lifetime." He merely lifted an eyebrow and remained silent. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Its Kagome if you've forgotten," she snapped, "I know you haven't forgotten it, Sesshomaru-sama, Lord Of The Western Lands." She emphasized every syllable of his name and title, tapping her foot in obvious irritation. Sesshoumaru was more amused than annoyed, and still did not speak. After a few tense moments she looked away and sighed. "Very well, I'll answer your questions?" She shot him a still annoyed glance. "But it would make things easier if you'd define your question a bit more."

He nodded, accepting that part. "You were dead." She smiled at that. "That isn't really a question, but I'll answer it anyway. Yes," she nodded, "I was dead. But I'm back now." He raised an eyebrow again. "I can see that. How?" The smile faded slightly. "I'm afraid I cannot answer that." The other eyebrow joined its twin. "Don't misunderstand me, I wouldn't mind telling you, but the main condition of my return to the world of the living is that I never speak of anything connected to my experiences after my death or my resurrection to anyone." The smile vanished completely. "And before you think about forcing it from me, that would only result in me being pulled back before I could reveal anything of value."

Once again he studied her scent and aura, trying to discern if she was being truthful. He could not find any of the telltale traces of a lie, the fluctuations in the aura or the tiny traces in her scent, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. "I presume your retinue is also part of that." She nodded. "Correct. As are my new appearance and abilities." He pondered her words, his gaze shifting from her, to her creatures, to her crows, and finally to Hakudoshi. He had noticed the boy earlier, recognizing Naraku's scent right away, making the child a detachment, much like Kagura. "Can you tell me why you have brought Naraku's vermin with you, and why it is still alive?" She glanced at the boy's prone form. "He's not Naraku's vermin anymore. He's my vermin now," she said with a smile. Even the ice lord found that smile a bit unsettling, though he didn't show it. "I see." He didn't. This woman was puzzling him, and he began to wonder if she really was the woman who had travelled with his worthless half-brother for so long. He decided to find out for sure.

"What are your intentions, now that you have returned," he asked, "will you re-join Inuyasha? And you have not yet answered my question as to why you... recruited one of Naraku's creatures." She frowned. "Questions, questions, everybody asks so many questions." She sighed. "No, I will not join Inuyasha again, in fact I do not wish to meet him at all any time soon, or I might kill him straight away, and that would be far too quick. I want to take my time with him when the time comes." The smile that graced her lips was perfectly wicked, and was slightly surprised at the pure hatred that laced her voice when she spoke the hanyous name. 'She seems to be serious about killing him,' he thought, 'is she truly that girl?' The woman continued, not seeming to care about the thoughts her words might cause. "As for Hakudoshi, I may need him in future." She looked into the daiyoukai's eyes. "My basic objectives haven't changed. I will collect the shards of the Shikon no Tama and destroy Naraku. But I will do it on my own." She chuckled to herself.

"I have already taken the shards that Kikyo and Kouga had and only a few remain." She looked at the open country behind the western lord. "I must pass through your lands, for Inuyasha was always hesitant to enter your domain, and some of the shards, which haven't been accounted for yet may still remain in that area." Sesshoumaru was silent for a while, pondering her words. He could simply allow her to pass through his lands, he didn't like the jewel at all, and would be glad to be rid of any shards that remained within his territory. But something was off, something about this woman unsettled him. He was sure that she hadn't told him the complete truth, and he didn't want a being of unknown power waltzing through the western lands without him knowing what it really was after.

"You will accompany this Sesshoumaru to his castle, for I wish to know more about you and your goals before I grant you free passage of my domain." He watched her carefully as he said that, looking for any sign that might warn him of her reactions. "Is that really necessary? I am no threat to you and I do not wish to harm you or that which is yours, and I really want to get this annoying quest over with." Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and reached for the hilt of his sword, Tokujin. "Yes, it is necessary, and you will obey me." All humour disappeared from her face and she scowled. "I'm afraid I have to decline your invitation, _my lord_" she sneered. Her little imps bristled and growled at him, and a strange purple light surrounded the angry woman.

"It was no invitation. You will come. I do not care in what condition you arrive an my castle, so I shall leave that decision to you." His voice was colder than ice and promised pain or worse. He drew his sword, the demonic blade glowing with wicked anticipation. Sesshoumaru watched the woman closely, noting her strange aura, waiting for twitch or spike that would indicate an attack. He truly did not wish to hurt her, yet, but he would if she forced his hand. Suddenly she relaxed, the purple haze fading. "Oh well, if you insist I suppose I must come with you." Here aura sank back to its previous level, and her creatures calmed. But once again, that strange sixth sense told Sesshoumaru to be wary.

And for a good reason. Abruptly her head snapped up, grinning madly. "Psyche!" A powerful blast of wind accompanied by a blast of energy exploded across the meadow, and Sesshoumaru attacked, his blade slashing at the woman's chest, but hitting empty air. "We will meet again, _my lord,"_ her voice echoed in his mind, "and next time things will be different."

When the dust cleared and the wind subsided, Sesshoumaru was standing at the riverside alone. The woman, her minions, Naraku's spawn, everything had vanished. Even the strange crows that had been circling the area. 'A translocation spell, and a powerful one.' He jumped straight up forming his cloud beneath him and fanning his senses out in all directions, but finding nothing. 'Very powerful. I cannot find the smallest trace.' He growled in irritation.

He was no sorcerer himself, but he had been trained to defeat one. He knew that such powerful spells needed time to be prepared, and he wondered if all her talk had been nothing more than a diversion. 'Is she truly who she seems to be? I'm not sure.' He paused going over the conversation in his mind again. 'She said that she already took the shards Inuyasha and his comrades had collected, so they will be able to tell me more.' He swept the area with his senses again, but came up with nothing. He returned Tokujin to its place and searched instead for Inuyasha's aura. 'He seems to be at that village, Edo. Good. He will tell me what I want to know, or I shall beat it out of his worthless hide.' Without further delay he set out to collect his ward and retainer, ignoring the feeling of unease that had taken root in him, telling him that something was happening or was going to happen.

Something bad.  
_

Many miles away, in a forest clearing, a strong wind suddenly sprang up, blowing leaves of trees and sending animals bolting for cover. There was a bright flash, then the wind died down. In the previously empty clearing, Kagome almost fainted from the strain of the spell. Two of her kobolds helped her remain upright, another hoisted Hakudoshi onto its back and the rest collected the food and clothing they had collected earlier. Kagome leaned on her little helpers, utterly spent. "That went well," she groaned. "He almost got me even though I had that spell ready." She chuckled weakly. "You're a dangerous one, Sesshoumaru. But next time, I'll be the one making the 'invitations'." She nodded to the kobolds supporting her, and the creatures lead their still chuckling mistress of into the forest, heading for a distant mountain range.  
_

In that strange realm, the five figures around the scrying pond relaxed visibly. "See," the woman said, "I told you she had it under control." "Yes you did say that," the soft voiced man answered. "But I was still worried for a brief moment." The man with the hard voice was shaking with anticipation. "Ah," he spoke, "I can hardly wait to enter that realm again. Did you see that lord's attack? His blade was fast and true." He drew a great sword with a straight, double edged blade. "A true warrior. He is a true warrior. I dearly wish to cross blades with him." The others regarded him with amusement. The soft spoken one chuckled. "You will get your chance, and soon. She will not take long to complete her work, and then we will be free." This brought excited whispers from the small group, and they quickly left the pool to prepare for their freedom.

Only the one that had drawn his sword remained, his gaze locked on the scrying pool that still showed the western lord. "Yes, soon. Soon I will see your skill for myself. Soon I will see if you are worthy of your name." He raised the great weapon, placed a kiss on the cross guard, and returned the blade to its scabbard. With one last glance at the pool, he turned and stalked off into the darkness.  
_

On one of Japans shores, a man appeared. There was no one in the vicinity, but if anyone had seen his arrival, they would have said that he had appeared out of thin air. He wasn't very tall or powerfully built, but something about him unsettled the mind. He was dressed in strange robes, going from white to dark brown in colour. His features were not Japanese, his eyes were to round and his face to broad, his hair was brown and curly and the lines on his bearded face told of a life filled with both sorrow and joy. The face of a man far older than this one appeared to be.

The man lifted his head as if scenting the air. A weary smile found its way onto his lips and he sighed. "So this is where it begins. But how will it end? I cannot see." He stood there for a long time, his back to the ocean, looking at the country he had arrived in, but not seeing any of it. "I see both sorrow and joy coming, the passing of a great evil, the arrival of another." He swayed rhythmically, to a silent tune only he could here. "Many paths will meet, some journeys will end, others begin." He stared up at the blue sky. "Where will my path lead me? I cannot say. Will it end here? I cannot tell." He paused, seemingly lost in thought. Then he grunted, shaking himself from his thoughts. "Well. No time to think about it. I must hasten or I will miss them." With that he strode forward, his quick steps taking him from the beach, leaving no tracks.

A/N: First of all, I would like to thank all of those who have read and reviewed my work. I am delighted that you seem to like it. I also apologise to those whose questions I have not yet answered. I will do so now, and try to answer any question you may have in the future.  
First, I was asked if Kagome's Kobolds were inspired by the heartless ones in Kingdom Hearts. I must say I hadn't thought of them at the time, but I can see where you might have gotten the impression from. I guess they were inspired by several things, like the game Overlord and the movie Gremlins for instance. [Don't own either:), not sure if I have to say that=)]  
Second, I was asked if Sess/Kag will happen in the end or if Sesshoumaru will have to take her out. I don't think I'll answer that one just yet XD. The same goes for the other story related questions. (Seriously, you wouldn't want me to answer those questions this way, would you?)

I will try to keep the updates coming in regular intervals (aka as quick as I can), so please have patience with me *bows*.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Decisions

Inuyasha sat on the roof of Kaede's hut, staring into space. He was thinking about the conversation he'd had with Kouga and Kikyo after waking up a few hours ago. Kikyo had told him that Kagome, their Kagome, had miraculously returned from the dead, apparently destroyed one of Naraku's henchmen and then attacked Kouga, cutting the jewel shards from his legs. He couldn't rap his mind around it, couldn't believe it, yet he could detect no lie in his old love's scent.

He'd still refused to believe it at first, but Kaede confirmed it, said she'd seen the girl. Kouga was a slightly different matter. He admitted that he'd seen Kagome, but refused to believe that it had been her, claiming instead that some malevolent, evil spirit or something similar had taken possession of Kagome's body, that it hadn't been Kagome who had cut up his legs. He said that the creature had enjoyed causing the pain and that Kagome would never do something like that.

Inuyasha desperately wanted to agree with him, but a small, sad voice in the back of his head kept telling him that it really was her, and not some spirit. And Kikyo was absolutely certain that it was Kagome, she said that she had recognised the soul immediately. That had made Inuyasha remember Kikyo's resurrection. Her fragmented soul had drastically changed her personality, making her cold and cruel. He wondered if it was the same with Kagome this time. Again that small voice said that the explanation was much simpler, but this time he chose to ignore it, placing both his hope and despair in his new theory.

He wouldn't mention it with Kouga near though. Who knew how the wolf would react. And Sango and Miroku probably shouldn't know either. Not even Shippo. He sighed. It was all so confusing and complicated. He had the feeling that somewhere some cruel god was amusing himself with his dilemma and laughing at his sorrow. He heard one of his friends shift under the roof he was sitting on, then Miroku groaned, slowly waking up. Inuyasha frowned, not looking forward to having to inform the monk of their current situation. So he decided to leave that part to Kikyo and Kouga.

His hated half-brother's scent pulled him from his reverie, and he leaped up without thinking, once again almost fainting from the pain of his injuries. He sniffed the air, trying to make out were Sesshoumaru was coming from, and where he was headed. His relationship to the western lord who happened to be his half-brother had been gradually improving before Kagome's death, but her demise had done little to help that slow process. At first Sesshoumaru had viewed his half-brother only as a stain on the family honour, but after that tragedy he changed his mind, deciding that he wasn't just a stain, but a disloyal stain. Inuyasha hadn't seen much of the ice lord after that. 'So why is he coming here now?'

The hanyou frowned, thinking. 'Maybe,' he wondered, 'maybe he's run into Kagome too. Kaede said that she was heading west when she left.' Before he could take that idea any further his half-brothers cloud came into view, followed by his two headed dragon steed, carrying that odd child and the annoying Kappa. 'This is going to be interesting' Inuyasha thought, slightly worried. 'If he wants to kill me for Tessaiga, he couldn't have picked a better time for it.' He carefully stepped of Kaede's roof, wincing at the pain of his wounds. 'Well, let's see what he wants.'

Slowly he walked to the edge of the village, determined to bring some distance between himself and the others. 'If he wants me, I'm all he'll get, no use pulling the others into this, especially when they can't defend themselves.' He came to a halt about 40 feet from the village. He watched with silent apprehension as his half-brothers cloud drifted towards him. The daiyoukai touched down about a dozen feet from the hanyou and stared at him, unsettling Inuyasha even further. His ward and retainer didn't land right away, obviously awaiting their lords command. "Well," Inuyasha grunted, "what do you want?"

Sesshoumaru lifted an eyebrow, a simple movement that agitated Inuyasha more than most enemy's taunts ever had. "I asked you something you bastard!" Inuyasha was already yelling. "What the hell do you want!" He grabbed Tessaiga's hilt and growled. Sesshoumaru sighed, "Where is the old miko, half-breed." The daiyoukai sounded like he was asking a bumbling fool for directions, not really expecting a coherent answer. "What?" Inuyasha stared at his brother as if he had just announced that the moon was green and made of wasabi. Sesshoumaru gave up. With a flash he shot past Inuyasha before the hanyou could even flinch. "I will find her myself, then." Inuyasha whirled and this time really did collapse from the pain. He gritted his teeth and tried to get to his feet, expecting his brother's claws to hit him at any moment.

But Sesshoumaru ignored Inuyasha's predicament and kept walking. He simply couldn't be bothered to pry information out of his half-brother, quite aware that Inuyasha wouldn't give him the time of day if he didn't have to, so he had decided to look for this village's old miko or maybe one of the other members of the jewel crew. He had noticed that Inuyasha was wounded, and wondered what or who had caused the injuries. Kagome's face flashed through his mind briefly, but he wanted to be certain before taking any steps. He sought out Kaede's scent and followed it. He was mildly surprised when he found the old woman waiting in front of a hut. The scent of blood, healing herbs and sweat emanated from the wooden dwelling, as well as the scent of Inuyasha's comrades. Apparently the hanyou hadn't been the only one to get wounded. _

Kaede watched the approach of the aristocratic assassin with mixed feelings. He wasn't here to fight, that much was obvious in his behaviour towards Inuyasha, so he had to have a different reason for his presence in Edo. And right now she could only think of one thing that may have brought the stoic lord to her small village. "Greetings, western lord, how may this old miko assist ye?" Nothing wrong with being polite. Especially when the person she was being polite to could level her entire village without breaking a sweat.

Sesshoumaru regarded her coldly. "Your comrades were attacked." Kaede frowned at the statement. "Yes," she answered slowly, "Naraku and his detachments came upon us yesterday, we were almost defeated." She told him of the encounter, what her sister had told her and what she had seen herself. When she got to her own encounter with Kagome she noticed Sesshoumaru narrow his eyes as if concentrating. She quickly realised why he had come to her village. "Ye have met her too, have you not?" He merely looked at her for a few minutes, then nodded. "Near the border of my lands." He gave a brief summary of the event, drawing a pained gasp from Inuyasha who had joined them during Kaede's narration.

"So, " a harsh voice growled, "that thing is looking for the shards." Sesshoumaru looked up to see Kouga leaning against the hut's entrance, his legs still bandaged. "Thing?" Sesshoumaru asked with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, thing!" Inuyasha growled. "You can't really believe that that really was Kagome, can you?" snarled Kouga. "Sesshoumaru looked at Kaede who merely shrugged. "They have decided to believe that their old friend is truly dead, rather than accept that death has changed her."

Sesshoumaru ignored the two men's protests and turned to face the way he had come, flaring his aura slightly. Moments later Ah-Uhn, Jaken and Rin came into view. "This Sesshoumaru would ask you to take care of his ward and retainer while he tries to find information about this new situation." Inuyasha huffed, preparing to deliver a loud rebuke. Before he could open his mouth, however, Sesshoumaru cut him off. "This Sesshoumaru did not ask you, Inuyasha, his question was directed at the miko." Said miko looked at Sesshoumaru's entourage and nodded. "They are welcome to stay here, as long as the kappa and the dragon behave." Sesshoumaru nodded, accepting her conditions.

"The dragon won't be a problem and you may punish the kappa should he be an annoyance." Jaken paled when he heard his masters words, but did not dare to ask any questions, unsure just what would count as an annoyance right now. Rin accepted her lords command with her usual enthusiasm, already running off to explore the village, a quietly complaining Jaken on her heals. Ah-Uhn ignored everyone and everything and simply slumped down to sleep. "Where will ye go?" Kaede was genuinely curious. Sesshoumaru turned to the west, his country. "To visit an old friend of my fathers. He may know something about this kind return." With that he stalked off, completely ignoring his half-brother and his half stuttered cajoleries and threats. None of them, not even Sesshoumaru, noticed the crow sitting in the tree that Inuyasha usually occupied. Even though it was over fifty feet away from them, it seemed to be watching them intently, focusing its gaze on the western lord.  
_

Far away from Edo in a remote corner of the western lands, where the landscape was rocky and uninviting, lay a deep ravine. If one were to climb to the bottom of this ravine and search the area carefully, one may find a cleverly concealed entrance. Behind the nondescript stone door was a short corridor, and at its end lay a spiralling staircase. Descending that staircase, one would arrive at another stone door, this one large and ornate, with elaborate symbols carved into it. Beyond that door lay a series of chambers and tunnels, all well lit by strange crystals that emitted a pale light.

The chambers were mostly empty, but some were in use. There was a smithy, a kitchen and some chambers had beds. One of the larger caverns at the far end of the complex resembled a throne room. A great stone chair was set on a large platform at one end of the room. To the left and to the right of the throne were doors. The door on the left led to an obviously unfinished area, where a swarm of diminutive reptilian creatures were digging at the rock with crude tools. The door on the other side led to a far more inviting room.

One side of the room was dominated by a pile of furs and cushions, forming a large and comfortable looking bed. The same strange crystals lit this room, but they were veiled with red cloth, making the light the crystals shed more pleasant to the eyes. Another door led to a bathing room, and the Kobolds had chosen the area purposely, for they had tapped into a hot spring and created a bathroom with hot water for their mistress. Said mistress lay at the centre of the makeshift bed, resting from the spell she'd been forced to use to escape the ice lord.

She was watching said lord visiting dog-boy and the rest of them, asking for information concerning her revival and announcing that he'd be visiting some old friend. She wondered at that, unsure if there actually was somebody in this realm who might know about the Martyrs. She'd have to ask the others about that. But first she'd have to bolster her ranks with an actual fighting force. But that would be difficult. Creating fighters wasn't too difficult, but she wanted more than club swinging thugs, she wanted capable warriors, and that kind of skill wasn't so easily created. An image of golden eyes, silver hair and deadly skill flashed through her mind, making her smile.

'Well, at least I already have one ingredient for my newest creation,' she thought and lifted her hand before her face, eying the silver strands appreciatively. 'That's for strength, speed and control, but I need more for true skill. I won't be able to get him for that part.' She frowned, deep in thought. 'What I need is a true sword master. I'll have to send more crows out to find an acceptable...donor.'

She briefly thought of Inuyasha and Kikyo, and decided to take action in that direction as well. 'It'll take a while before I can proceed with the plan,' she thought, 'so I may as well amuse myself in the meantime. But what to send them? Something iconic. One of my own maybe? Or maybe..' That devious smile appeared as she thought of what or who she might send to "play" with the hanyou and his comrades. She saw slightly pink hair and deadly claws as well as slashing blades of bone in her mind, like memories of a past life. 'Well, in a way they are memories of a past life. Now, getting those two back shouldn't be much of a problem if the others help me. Plus, those two should be an adequate challenge without completely outclassing Bakayasha and the others sheep. After all, they've already defeated them once.'

'Wouldn't want Inuyasha to snuff it too early, oh no. I want to enjoy this little game.' Having decided on a course of action she settled down, resting herself before trying to get the two creatures back from the realm of the dead. She slipped into a restful slumber, with two names echoing through her mind. 'Kageroumaru and Juuroumaru. You two have been dead for long enough. Let's see if I can get you back.' 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: It begins

Several days later.

After a battle has ended, no one cares about the crows. At least not at first. This particular battlefield was no exception. As soon as the victors left the fields, the crows had settled. But some of the birds did not seem interested in the carrion, paying more attention to the living than the dead. One man in particular had caught their attention, a samurai by the name of Hayato. The warrior had been vital for the success of the daimyo's army. His blade had felled the enemy commander and many others who had blocked his path. Hayato the Hawk was feared by his enemies, and respected and envied by his allies. He was known for his skill with the blade and the bow, and his daimyo, Katashi Shimura was proud to call him his kinsman.

The daimyo had married the samurai's sister and loved the woman dearly, even though the marriage had been a political one. His love for his wife had guaranteed him the Hayato's undying loyalty, and he had often been saved by the man's instincts and skill. He had come to trust his vassals council, even depending on it at times. This is why it unsettled him that his prized fighter seemed to be worried about something, for he did not really take part in the victory celebration, and seemed ready to run back into the fray any minute, his eyes regularly wandering back to the battlefield, as if seeking an invisible enemy. Katashi called out to Hayato, asking him to come to his side. With one last glance at the field of victory, Hayato quickly ran to his lord's side and bowed low. "Yes my lord, what do you require from me?" Katashi smiled. In private they would talk like the friends they were, but here Katashi was a daimyo and Hayato, no matter how skilled, a servant.

"I would like to know why my best samurai is not celebrating like he should after a victory." Hayato didn't respond immediately, instead turning his head to the battlefield once more. "I am not sure my lord, but something about this battlefield troubles me. I feel as if I am being watched by someone, someone whose intentions are not friendly." Katashi frowned. Over the years he had learned to believe in Hayato's instincts, for they were usually accurate. "Do you think that some of Ogami's forces have escaped, or is it someone else?" Hayato sighed. "I cannot say my lord, but I am certain that something is wrong." Katashi looked to the battlefield himself, his eyes looking for something out of the ordinary, but finding nothing. Carrion crows had already descended on the field pulling and hacking at the bodies of the vanquished.

"I see nothing." Hayato crossed his arms, scowling at the battlefield. "Neither do I my lord, but my instincts tell me that something is wrong." Katashi looked at his vassal, noting his obvious tension. He had often wondered if the man's instincts were something beyond ordinary, for they were almost always right. Maybe something was true about the rumours that the family had youkai blood in it. His gaze wandered back to the field, searching. The arrival of Takeo, the old priest, interrupted their vigil. "Something is off m'lord," the old man wheezed, "I sense a dark presence on its way here." Hayato stared over the fields, his hand dropping to the hilt of his katana. "Youkai?" The old man coughed a bit before answering. "Aye, probably. Drawn to the carnage of battle I guess." Katashi was a bit worried about that. Really strong youkai could annihilate him and his army. He himself had met Sesshoumaru, the youkai lord of these lands, and witnessed the cold male's deadly skills. Even Hayato could not match that kind of strength.

"A threat perhaps?" The old man shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. It's always hard to tell with youkai. Some are merely curious while others are simply vicious and detest humans." Katashi noticed that Hayato had not relaxed the grip on his sword hilt, and the daimyo wasn't certain if his vassal had even blinked since the old priest had announced the presence of a youkai. At least Katashi hoped that it was just one. He gazed back at the field, looking for a clue to the creature's whereabouts, but still, nothing. Suddenly a deep feeling of dread and foreboding came over him, his instincts kicked in, telling him to run and hide, that a predator was on the hunt and would kill him if it found him. Some of the men seemed to share his feeling, the laughter and singing dying down until all was silent.

Then he heard it. It sounded vaguely like a horse's call, but warped and dangerous. Again the ghastly call sounded, closer this time. The horse, if it could be called that, finally came into view. It was huge, its fur a pristine white, its mane a fiery red and its hooves were wreathed in flames. On its back sat what appeared to be a child, carrying a naginata. "Entei?" The old priest's voice was filled with fear, his eyes wide and staring. The youkai horse came at them with incredible speed, closing the distance quickly. Hayato rushed in front of his lord, sword drawn. The monstrous horse landed barely 10 feet away from them, and it's strange rider dismounted.

The child was dressed in a white children's kimono, his eyes a dull purple, his hair white as snow. Katashi could not explain why, but this child frightened him. The boy regarded them with cold malice, as if none of them were worth his time. Suddenly one of the carrion crows settled on the boys shoulder, cawing at him. The child seemed to listen to the crow, and then turned to them, looking directly at Hayato. "That one? Alright." The voice was that of a young boy, but the tone was that of a killer, cruel and cold. "You there," the child addressed Hayato, "you will come with me."

Hayato scowled. "Who are you, and what do you want with me?" The boy's expression didn't change in the slightest as he stared at the human samurai. "My name is Hakudoshi, and I do not want anything from you." He smiled coldly. "However, my mistress desires your presence, what for, I do not know, nor do I care." One of the braver samurai laughed at that, though the laugh sounded strained. "Well Hayato," he guffawed, "it looks like you've attracted the attention of a youkai girl, and now she wants to 'chat' with you." The joke brought a few sniggers from the other men, who started to regain their courage when they realized that their potential adversary, though youkai, was just a child. "Yes," one drawled, "being the object of the wet dreams of all the girls back at the castle isn't enough for old Hayato, now he steals the hearts of youkai women as well."

The samurai and other soldiers continued to bolster their moral with these petty jokes, finally convinced that they could easily defeat the strange child and its steed. Even Katashi started to relax, but the priest Takeo and Hayato remained wary. The wizened priest stepped forward, pulling ofudas from his robes. "Be gone, foul demon! Do not sully this field of victory with your unclean presence." If the child was in any way intimidated by the old priest, he was certainly good at concealing it. He simply stared at the cleric, the naginata casually slung over one shoulder. "I did not come here to play with you, human, I only want that man," he said in a voice that promised pain if disobeyed, and pointed at Hayato, "if he comes with me I might let you live."

The casually uttered threat, silenced the men's banter abruptly, and swords left their sheaths. Takeo flung his ofudas at Hakudoshi. "Die, foul monster!" The ofudas crackled with holy energy, but Hakudoshi deflected them with his barrier. Unperturbed, the old priest continued his assault, drawing more ofudas. But before he could through more, Hakudoshi struck. A seemingly casual flick of his naginata took the old man's hands and before the man even registered the injury, Hakudoshi rammed his weapons deadly blade into the priests gut. The old man screamed in pain, scrabbling at the weapons blade with bloody stumps. The cruel child yanked the blade from the dying man's belly, spun on his heel and smashed his weapons butt right through Takeo's skull, splattering the men behind him with blood and gore.

Shocked by the cruel display, the samurai did what they had been raised to do when a powerful enemy threatened their lords life. They attacked. The samurai were good. They lasted almost a full minute. Hayato had not attacked, shielding his lord from the monstrous child. Hakudoshi calmly disposed of the samurai, though he did not kill all of them. In his opinion it was far better for arrogant samurai to be taught a lesson in humility, and Hakudoshi believed himself to be a very good teacher. He cut of arms and legs, leaving defeated cripples behind that would never be able to wield a sword again but would survive in shame.

After lopping off the last samurais head, the regular warriors fled in terror. Hakudoshi cleaned his weapon on the dead priests robes before turning back to Hayato. "Now, I believe I already told you that my mistress desired your presence within her stronghold. Will you now obey her demands?" Hayato was livid, but he knew that he could not defeat the demonic child, even if he was a master with the sword, this youkai was still beyond him. The child was barely waist high, but he had flung fully grown men around like dolls and butchered them like cattle, yet the white kimono was still pristine, not a single drop of blood had touched the boy. Hayato feared for his lord's life.

"If I do as you say, will you spare the daimyo?" Hakudoshi looked at the terrified Katashi and dismissed him immediately. "I do not care about that pathetic coward, I only want you. But if you do not obey and force me to fight you, I will kill your precious lord, find his castle and slaughter every man, woman and child there." The boy's tone was conversational, despite the terrible ultimatum he had just delivered. He might have been talking about the weather, but Hayato saw the wicked glint in Hakudoshi's eyes. 'He will really do it', he realised, 'and the castle's defences won't stop him.' Hayato resigned himself to his fate then. He would rather die himself than endanger his lord and lady.

The samurai sheathed his Katana and turned to the still shaking Katashi who was looking at him with an expression that was both pleading and sorrowful. Hayato did not want to lose his closest friend in this manner, but neither did he want to lose his life, let alone his wife and heir. Hayato bowed to his lord for what would be the last time. "Farewell my friend. I only ask one thing of you. Please look after my sister and nephew." With that he turned to follow Hakudoshi, who was waiting next to his steed. When the weary samurai reached him, Hakudoshi threw an eerily glowing net over him faster than he could blink, and before he knew it, the horse Touga had called Entei was heading for the clouds, dragging the miserable warrior with it.

Katashi stayed behind, scared and ashamed. He fell to his knees, weeping openly, not caring if the few soldiers and samurai that remained saw it. The day should have ended with his victory over his rival Ogami, but he while he had won that battle, he had lost his dearest friend to a far more terrible enemy. For the first time in his life, Katashi knew true loss.  
_

The former Shikon Miko had enjoyed the spectacle, having watched her servant's deeds through the eyes of her crows. A small part of her was appalled at the bloodshed and suffering she had caused since her resurrection, but the larger part revelled in the pain. Pain that she had not suffered but inflicted. She dismissed the part that regretted the violence as the last shred of her old weakness. Compassion, trust and caring had brought her nothing but death, despair and damnation, in that order. She scowled at the memory of her torment, remembering how the pure light of her soul had attracted the demons of the abyss, how they had tortured her, bringing pain and anguish that was worse than any kind of rape. Her sole had been destroyed and rebuilt, over and over, for what had felt like decades. Then the Martyrs had come and saved her. She remembered that moment clearer than any other. They had thundered through the clearing on steeds of fire and lightning, destroyed her tormenters and carried her away to their stronghold, one of the only truly save places in the abyss.

There she had slowly begun to heal, while the Martyrs told her about themselves. They were just like her, people that had fought to protect those they cherished, only to be betrayed by them. Like her, they had been betrayed to their deaths, and like her, they had cursed their loved ones, their fate, and their gods before death. Like her, they had been tortured in the abyss and like her, they had been saved.

When she had recovered sufficiently enough, they had made her an offer. Either, she could stay within the fortress of the Martyrs were she would be save from the fiends that roamed the endless darkness of the pit, or she could join the Martyrs in their quest for revenge and justice. The girl that had been Kagome had already changed greatly at that time, and she eagerly joined the Martyrs. And they had taught her of a great power that lay dormant within her sole, a spark of divine energy, a spark of the great fire of creation, a spark which all humans shared, but only very few ever managed to release it.

A movement behind her drew her attention. The creature she had summoned from its grave stood there bound by powerful wards, waiting to be released. Kagome smiled and her face held nothing of the warmth that had once filled her. She turned to her newest servant. "It is time, my friend. Time for you and your brother to get your revenge. Go to Edo. Kill Inuyasha. Then I will set you free and you may do as you wish." Her demented laughter echoed through her stronghold, and her blue eyes burned with a cold fire, the stripes that marked her face now fully developed. Her transformation was complete.  
_

Some miles away the man that had come across the sea paused. A shift in the fabric of reality had distracted him. He studied the pattern for a moment, then he sighed and resumed his journey, his pace quickened. "I must hurry," he muttered, "for it has already begun."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Truth and First Blood

Sesshoumaru was deep in thought as he entered a forest somewhere in the western lands. His mind was on the strange woman, Kagome, whom he had learned to respect for her strength of will, which was impressive for a ningen. She had died, betrayed by his half-brother, who had promised to save her, yet broken that promise to save an old love.

'She must have died in bitterness, and that bitterness has come with her into her new life.' The daiyoukai also wondered about her strange new powers, and the means of her return. 'I know of many ways to return the dead to life, the Tensaiga being one of them, but I have never heard of a way that would have the effects she displays.'

He was currently on his way to Bokuseno, an ancient tree youkai and friend of the Inu line. He held much knowledge about many things, including rituals and spells of both youkai and ningen. Sesshoumaru hoped that Bokuseno would know something to help him understand the situation. He was woefully uninformed, and the daiyoukai who always liked to be in control didn't like that one bit. Also, an instinct or premonition or something like that caused the Inu lord to be wary. Something about Kagome's return disturbed him deeply, and warned him to be on his guard.

As he came closer to the clearing the ancient tree resided in he slowed, listening. What had caused him to hesitate was that he had heard two voices within the clearing. He quickly recognised the seconded and smiled to himself. 'So,' he thought, 'the cowardly flea has decided to visit his old friend, has he?' The other voice belonged to another longstanding advisor to the western Inu line, the flea youkai, Myouga.

Sesshoumaru had never had much patience for Myouga, annoyed by his cowardice and infuriating semi-loyalty to Inuyasha. 'Even Jaken is braver than that coward. And that says it all.' Myouga had known of Sesshoumaru's dislike and had chosen, probably wisely, to avoid the dangerous inu whenever possible. But now he was within easy reach. Bokuseno definitely knew about Sesshoumaru's presence already, but from what the daiyoukai could tell, had not yet revealed this to the flea.

Hiding his aura, the aristocratic assassin advanced on his target, making not even the slightest sound. He stopped when he caught sight of the flea. "It was a terrible shame actually," he heard Myouga say. "The young miko was starting to have an effect on the brash young master." The aged Bokuseno, a face that seemed to grow from a tree's trunk, smiled sadly. "Yes, I know. I never met her, but the winds, trees and birds spoke fondly of the girl." The flea nodded. "That does not surprise me. She was gentle and kind, but could be hard if she had to." Myouga grunted and frowned. "The news of the girls demise shocked me, I had been so sure that the two would mate someday," Myouga whined, wringing his hands.

"That girl was magnificent," he continued. "Not only was she a promising miko, she was also helping to close the breach between the master's sons." He looked up at his old friend's face. "The children of that union could have been a blessing to the western lands and the house of the moon." Sesshoumaru smirked inwardly. Once he had had similar thoughts, wondering just how those children might be, and if they might be an asset or a threat. But the miko's death had ended all thoughts in that direction. Even if Inuyasha were to produce children with the other miko he would not accept them. Inuyasha had proven that he was not worthy of trust.

"I heard that the girl had even earned Sesshoumaru's respect, and that alone is quite an achievement, considering the lord's narrow minded hate of ningen." Myouga let himself fall on to his back, folding two of his arms behind his head and the other two on his chest. He gazed up at Bokuseno's boughs and let his gaze wonder, looking at the flecks of sunlight among the green sea of leaves, the grass moving in the wind's grip, the fluffy clouds gliding across the blue sky, the fluffy youkai lord glaring down at him, the birds and squirrels that were right now leaving the area due to the angered Sesshoumaru...

He shot upright, staring at Bokuseno's smug expression. He rubbed his eyes with all four arms, and slowly -very slowly- turned. When he saw that Sesshoumaru was really there, he spun around and bowed deeply, his long beak practically digging into the ground. "G-Greetings, Seshoumaru-sama. I hope you are doing well," he stuttered. "I presume that you wish to speak with Bokuseno-dono. I shall leave immediately my lord, so that I do not disturb your privacy." Myouga turned and scampered of, completely forgetting his little pack and hat. "Myouga." He froze when he heard the daiyoukai's icy voice. "You will stay." Myouga turned, an expression of strained obedience on his face. "Y-Yes of c-course, my lord, If it is your w-wish."

Sesshoumaru watched the flea slink back to the place he had vacated and sit down, before he addressed the Bokuseno, not missing the ancient tree's apparent satisfaction. "This Sesshoumaru has need of your council Bokuseno." The old youkai smiled. "Of course my lord, on what do seek this old tree's advice?" Sesshoumaru told him of the events of the last few days, Naraku's attack, Kagome's return, and his own encounter with the changed woman. "Before she fled, this Sesshoumaru noticed a sudden change within her aura and scent. She appeared to be changing, maybe into some kind of youkai though it is difficult to be certain."

Bokuseno was silent, his eyes closed. Myouga spoke up instead. "Please my lord, are you certain that this woman really was the lady Kagome?" Sesshoumaru glared at Myouga, making the flea fear for his life again. "Do you question this Sesshoumaru's abilities?" Myouga was quick to prostrate himself. "No, no, no of course not!" was his quick answer. "I merely find it hard to accept that the kind lady Kagome could do the things you told of, your lordship, that is all."

"People can change Myouga." It was Bokuseno's sonorous voice. "There are many things in this world that can facilitate that change, but none are as powerful as love." Sesshoumaru stared at the old man, wanting to scoff at his words, but old memories told him that they were too true. "Kind as she may have been, you must remember that she was still a woman. The young masters constant betrayal will have slowly eaten away at her kindness."

His eyes opened but he did not appear to be looking at anything in particular. "It would be truly naive to believe that she would always be forgiving for Inuyasha's transgressions." He looked straight at Sesshoumaru, the strange old eyes seemingly piercing his soul. "Love between a man and a woman, between a child and its parent, love to one's country, or even love of power and wealth, in whatever form, love is a powerful force that can change even the most stubborn souls and warm the coldest hearts." He closed his eyes and sighed, the sound sending a rustling echo through the entire forest. "But the change is not always good. If the love is broken and trust betrayed, the wonderful thing that is love may change into something terrible."

A deep silence fell across the clearing, only disturbed by the wind in the leaves. Finally Sesshoumaru spoke. "Can you tell this Sesshoumaru anything concerning the miko's resurrection? How she came into her new powers." The tree youkai just looked at the inu lord with a strange expression before closing his eyes again. "I am not sure." For a while the tree remained quiet his eyes closed. Sesshoumaru felt his patience wavering, and an old desire he often felt crept into his mind again. It was hard to resist that drive. He just wanted to step up to the annoyingly silent tree and knock on his head as if he were a door. The one thing that always stopped him was that it would be something that Inuyasha might do.

Finally the old tree spoke again. "I have lived for a many millennia, and have seen or heard many things, many of them I still find very strange. I have a theory about this resurrection, but unless I can be sure that I am right, I am forbidden of revealing anything to you." Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "And on whose command are you forbidden to do so?" He wanted to know who Bokuseno believed to have a higher authority than him, for he could think of no one, aside from the kami maybe.

The grizzled tree youkai stared at him before answering. "I am bound by the order of Yukawa, the first of the western lords, and your ancestor. He forbade me to speak of this matter until I have distinctive proof that it truly..." He paused, his eyes widening in surprise. "What?" asked Sesshoumaru, still slightly shaken by the invocation of his ultimate ancestor, a youkai of such power that none of the western inu line had been able to equal him as of yet. That was one of Sesshoumaru's ambitions as well.

When Bokuseno spoke again, his face wore an expression of deep unease. "It appears that it is necessary that I tell you after all." Sesshoumaru stared at him, listening intently. "It was over three thousand years ago, when Yukawa was one of the first cardinal lords. At that time the lords where tied together in a powerful alliance, the Pact of the Four Lords." Sesshoumaru nodded, having heard of this pact but never truly believing in it. "Nowadays the lords try to do each other in to take the other lands for themselves, but then your ancestor and the other lords, whose lines have been broken as other ambitious youkai overthrew them, were true allies and even friends."

Bokuseno sighed, apparently lost in memories. "That was the first time we ever heard of the spark." Sesshoumaru looked at him quizzically. "Spark?" The ancient tree blinked. "Yes, the spark. Unto this day I am not entirely sure what it is, but I think that it is a small part of the big flame, the enormous bonfire from which all of creation was made." Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, not sure if he understood. "It is said that some beings, ningen in particular, have a small ember, a spark, of this great power within their souls, and even fewer, apparently exclusively humans, manage to use it in one way or another."

"These few," Bokuseno continued, "could use the power of this spark of true creation to become anything they desired, anything they could imagine within their minds." Again Bokuseno gazed at Sesshoumaru, seeming to search his soul. "You must understand, young lord, the spark is a great power, and through it many things, some evil, some good, were brought into this world. You yourself have been confronted with this power." Sesshoumaru lifted both eyebrows this time, genuinely surprised. "I believe I would remember such a meeting."

Bokuseno smiled. "Only if you knew what you were looking at, pup." Sesshoumaru would have killed or at least maimed anyone else if they would call him a pup, but in this case he accepted it. Compared with the ageless tree, he truly was a mere pup. "Enlighten me then," he asked, "when did I come across this 'spark'." Bokuseno's smile turned into a raspy chuckle. "Why, my lord, have you never asked yourself where the Shikon no Tama's power comes from?"  
_

Back in Edo, Inuyasha sat in his favourite tree, staring at the sky. His and Kouga's wounds had healed, but Sango and Miroku would still need a lot or rest before they could carry on with their quest. He winced a bit when he thought about how Sango and Miroku had reacted to the news of Kagome's resurrection and behaviour. The elation they had felt first had quickly turned to fear and worry. Like him and Kouga, they preferred to believe that it hadn't really been Kagome, but Kikyo and Kaede's insistence that it really had been her, unsettled them deeply.

Sango had burst into tears, crying into the monks chest as he held her. For her it was Kohaku all over again. Inuyasha was deeply worried about her, and he knew that Miroku shared that worry. Neither of them wanted to lose her, Inuyasha saw her as a dear friend, no matter how she treated him for Kagome's death, and to Miroku she was much more.

Inuyasha was deep in thought, so deep that he almost didn't notice the attack. He only barely managed to get out of his tree before the attacker collided with it, ripping through the branch Inuyasha had been lying on. Inuyasha landed with his sword drawn and transformed, determined to protect his friends at all costs. His eyes widened when the dust cleared and he caught sight of his attacker. Next to the tree, among the splinters of the shattered branch, stood a man in black and green clothes, cold silver eyes regarding him from an emotionless face framed by slightly pink hair.

"You!" Inuyasha couldn't believe his eyes. "But we killed you."His attacker didn't answer, but shot forward with incredible speed. Inuyasha just barely managed to get his Tessaiga up to deflect the blow, and the strength behind it astounded him. The strange man dodged his blow with a backwards jump, and stared at Inuyasha with those unsettling silver eyes. A small ripple in the ground was all the warning Inuyasha had, but it was just enough. He leaped to the side, just as something small shot out of the ground, grazing his leg.

Inuyasha cursed at the pain of his newest wound, but managed to stand, his sword held high, waiting for the next attack. Instead something spoke. "I must say I am almost flattered that you didn't forget about us." Inuyasha remembered that voice and his eyes quickly sought out its owner. It was a disgusting, worm like creature with curved sickle like blades for hands and a human head. Its face was a mirror image of the larger attacker's face. "How could I forget two sick bastards like you and your brother," Inuyasha growled at them.

The little monster smiled at him. "Looks like you haven't changed at all," it said with a smirk. "Juuroumaru and I couldn't wait to see you again, Inuyasha. We desperately wanted to thank you for giving us that amazing opportunity." The smirk grew wider. "And it appears that you gave other people the same opportunity. Our new mistress wants to thank you as well, you know." A cold feeling gripped Inuyasha's heart. "And who is that?" He asked the question loudly, even though he didn't really want to hear the answer. Kageroumaru answered anyway. "Why, I believe you know her Inuyasha. After all, it was through your betrayal that the lady Kagome died."

Despair rammed its deadly claws into the hanyou's body and ripped at his heart. "I don't believe you!" With a feral roar he attacked, wanting nothing more than to lose himself in battle, to forget why it was that he was fighting, forget that it was his former best friend who had sent these monsters after him. Kageroumaru laughed and disappeared in a flash of light.

On the tree Inuyasha had lain in, two crows were watching the confrontation intently, and through them, their mistress watched as well.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Doubt

Inuyasha was in trouble and he knew it. He knew that he had defeated the two brothers in the past, but at that time he'd had help. This time he was alone. The two detachments were moving with incredible speed and their teamwork was flawless. Every time Inuyasha dodged or blocked one, the other would strike. He was already bleeding from numerous wounds. It was unlikely that he would get help any time soon. Kouga and his cronies had run of as soon as the wolf had been able to, Sango and Miroku were still nursing broken bones, Kikyo was probably still too weak and Shippo was too young to do any serious damage to one of these guys. They were also doing their best to keep him where he was. So close to the village he couldn't use the wind scar safely, so they stopped him from going anywhere else.

He had managed to land a few hits himself, but nothing serious. Juroumaru was bleeding from a cut across his chest and a few other scratches and scrapes, but Kageroumaru was unscathed. "Not doing too well, are we Inuyasha," the worm creature drawled. "You're nothing without your friends, you pathetic weakling." Rage coursed through the now seriously irate hanyou and snarled. "Shut up, you piece of shit!" Swinging the Tessaiga wildly he charged. The brothers only just managed to evade the attack, surprised by his sudden speed burst.

"Ah, so the little one has some ability after all," Kageroumaru sneered, perched upon his brothers shoulder. "But it won't save you kid. Nothing can save you now." At this time Inuyasha was sorely tempted to simply use the wind scar, and to hell with the consequences. He began to feel the hauntingly familiar pulsing, the song of his youkai blood, urging him to discard of the cumbersome blade and tear into his foes with teeth and claws. Deep within his soul, the manifestation of the wild power and instinct that was and yet was not Inuyasha, stirred in its sleep. 'Gotta hold on,' Inuyasha told himself. "Who knows what might happen if I go crazy so close to the village." But already he was slipping, and every wound his attackers caused pushed him closer to the edge.

"Useless creature," Kageroumaru growled, "you would never have defeated us on your own." He charged at Inuyasha, scythes slashing, but he suddenly had to veer to the side to avoid a glowing arrow. It narrowly missed the worm creature, who settled on a tree branch to glare at the new threat. Kikyo had heard the commotion and had come to assist her friend. "Get away from him you putrid snake," she said in a loud and steady voice. "This village and its inhabitants are under my protection, and if you value your existence you will leave. Now." There was nothing subtle about the threat.

"Ah, there you are, Kikyo, correct?" Kageroumaru tilted his head at Inuyasha, who was fighting against Juroumaru. "Have you come to save your love? That's very touching" he drawled. "We weren't exactly ordered to take you down as well, but I doubt that our mistress will be too sad about your demise." Kikyo returned the glare with equal intensity. She quickly readied a second arrow and aimed it at the worm, the tip already glowing. "Do not underestimate me, filth. The likes of you cannot defeat me." Kageroumaru hissed. "You talk big, but you'll die easily enough. Not that it will be too swift. My brother and I only have limited time before we must return to the grave, but we intend to enjoy every minute of it," he leered.

Hearing the creature threaten the woman he loved was all it took to drive the struggling Inuyasha over the edge. With a savage growl he flung the Tessaiga at his hastily retreating opponent. Juroumaru dodged the sword by jumping, but he couldn't avoid the raging hanyou who followed the awkward projectile. Inuyasha slammed into him, biting and clawing like a wild animal. His eyes were blood red and two jagged, purple crests hat appeared on his face. The raging beast, that slept within all youkai, be they half or full blooded, had fought its way to the surface of Inuyasha's mind and roared out its anger and defiance for all the world to hear.

Kageroumaru cursed and rushed to assist his sibling, but was once again distracted by a glowing arrow. Hissing, he retreated into the ground. No one had ever told Kikyo of these two incarnations, so she was unsure of the snakes intentions. Readying another arrow she scanned the ground about Inuyasha, at the same time wondering how she should calm him. She knew about his youkai blood, but she had never seen him in this state. One would never have guessed it from looking at her, but the sight deeply unsettled her. She knew that Inuyasha was brash and could be violent, but this...

Firmly she banished those thoughts from her mind, concentrating on the fight and looking for the worm creature. She was taken by surprise when he burst from the ground behind her and scored a hit on her back, cutting her open. Her scream of pain and the scent of her blood distracted the beast that was and yet was not Inuyasha. He leaped away from the heavily wounded Juroumaru and rushed to Kikyo. Kageromaru quickly burrowed back underground, satisfied that the wound he had caused would be lethal.

Inuyasha landed next to Kikyo, taking her in his arms almost gently, growling quietly. Kikyo groaned in pain. Fear lanced through her as she realized that the wound would probably kill her. She opened her eyes and stared into Inuyasha's blood red eyes. "Inuyasha," she whispered. She tried to reach for his face, but already she was weakening. The hanyou whined, and nudged her face with his nose.

Behind them, Juroumaru had limped closer, his face and torso a bloody mess. One of his eyes was ruined and deep gashes marred the previously handsome features. At his feat, Kageromaru emerged from the dirt and slithered up his brothers body to sit on his shoulders, a triumphant grin on his face. "That's two, Inuyasha. Two people you swore to protect, and one has died and the other is dying." He smirked. "You really are useless." Juroumaru stopped when he heard Inuyasha growl in response.

The enraged hanyou set the woman down carefully and turned to face his opponents, the deep growl quickly turning into a feral snarl. Kageromaru laughed in his face. "She's already dead, and now it's your turn!"

"I do not think so." None of them had ever heard that voice before, but it affected all of them. Kikyo felt an almost meditative calm spread through her, brining out memories of her long lost mother, singing her to sleep. Inuyasha calmed as well, his red eyes slowly fading back to gold, the jagged stripes disappearing. The faces of three women flashed through his mind. His mother, Kikyo and Kagome, the three women that had always been able to make him feel safe. Their attacker's reaction, however, was very different. They whirled to stare at the source of the voice, immediately dropping into a fighting stance. "Oh, I do not think you wish to do that," the voice spoke again, "you cannot defeat me."

The speaker was a man, not very tall or muscular but not small either. His features were strange, with round eyes, a broad face and a bushy beard. His eyes were a warm blue, like a summer sky. He smiled at his would-be attackers. "There is no more need for violence here. If you wish to leave in peace I will not stop you." Kageromaru hissed in agitation. "Who the hell are you?" The man's smile did not waver. "Someone your mistress did not expect," was all he said. His gaze landed on Kikyo and her wound. He frowned, but somehow managed to smile while doing it.

"That will not do. Excuse me, but I will have to attend to her wounds." With that he simply strode past the brothers and Inuyasha who quickly got out of his way, and knelt down next to Kikyo. She looked at him with wide eyes, but did not show any sign of fear or distress. Even Inuyasha did not react, although a complete stranger had just walked up to the woman he loved. The man's hand touched Kikyo's wound, and she flinched. "I am sorry, child," he said apologetically, "I know that you have longed for death before, but it is not yet your time." A warm blue light surrounded his hand as he brushed it over the gash, and it quickly closed, as if it had never even been there.

Kageromaru snarled. "You bastard! Stop interfering and leave, before we kill you too." Inuyasha whirled to face them with a snarl of his own, quickly putting himself between his woman and their strange new ally, and their attackers. "Shut up you turd!" His eyes bleeding red again at the threat to his love, he attacked. Juroumaru met the attack head-on, but Kageromaru took of the left, shooting towards a small shed on the edge of the village with incredible speed. Inuyasha was just about to finish off Juroumaru as he heard a scream. He turned his head to look where the scream had come from.

A small figure slowly came out from behind the shack that Kageromaru had fled to. The worm had wrapped his long body around her neck, and held his scythes to her throat. Inuyasha heard Kikyo curse. "Dammit, he's got Rin." Tears were streaming from the terrified girls eyes. Her hands were gripping Kageromaru's body, but she wasn't strong enough to dislodge her captor. The snake whispered something in her ear and she stopped.

"Rin is sorry," she called to Inuyasha, "Rin just wanted to see what was going on." She choked as Kageromaru tightened his hold on her neck. "Shut up, girl, or I'll cut you to pieces," he hissed at her. Inuyasha growled. "Let her go, she's got nothing to do with this." Kageromaru chuckled. "I don't really care if she has or not, but if you don't get off my brother this moment, I swear I'm going to remove her little head, and I doubt that your new friend could heal her then." Slowly, Inuyasha let go of Juromaru and slowly backed away. The battered youkai got up and limped towards his brother.

"Well, Inuyasha, It seems like you've won this fight, but it isn't over yet. We've still got a few days before we die again, and we'll get you before then." A wicked light crept into his eyes as he glanced at his terrified hostage. "But maybe your brother will do the killing for us when he finds his wards decapitated corpse."

"No!" Inuyasha leapt forward to stop the snake, but he knew he would never get there in time. But before Kageromaru could follow through on his threat, a harsh croak stopped him. Several large crows had settled on the trees and buildings around them. Several were cawing at him, and even though they spoke no words Inuyasha or Kikyo could hear, Kageromaru seemed to understand them.

He scowled at the birds. "Why should I?" he answered an unheard question. "You sent us here to kill, and that's what we're doing." He sneered at the crows. "Did you think you could control us? Even Naraku couldn't and he made us." He hissed, the repulsive sound echoed by his brother who was now eying the crows warily. "I'll kill this little bitch, and then we'll get our revenge." He laughed loudly and shifted his scythes, cutting the girls skin slightly.

All of a sudden he froze, his scythes dropping and his body slackening. Juroumaru dropped to his knees, hands closed around his neck as if he had trouble breathing. "What?" the worm gasped. Rin quickly pulled the now weak youkai from her neck and threw him to the ground. Then she ran to Inuyasha as fast as she could. Without thinking the hanyou quickly pulled the girl behind him.

"What are you doing? No," Kageromaru rasped, "don't! We can still you!" Juroumaru gasped, brought his hands before his face and stared at them. They were slowly dissolving, like sand blown away in the wind. Kageromaru screamed as his body slowly disappeared. "No, no, please no!" For the very first time, the merciless creature begged for mercy. But apparently it was too late, for whatever force was pulling his body apart did not relent.

Inuyasha watched as his foes disintegrated, horror evenly matched with satisfaction. Finally, the two brothers vanished with a final scream. Inuyasha looked down at the girl that had fisted her hands into his clothes, eyes wide, staring at the spot where she had stood a few moments ago. "You ok?" the hanyou asked her gruffly. Her wide brown eyes turned up to stare at Inuyasha. She nodded. "Yes, Rin is fine, but her neck hurts a bit." Inuyasha crouched down to inspect the girls neck. "You've been cut, but it's not deep." A part of Inuyasha was wondering what he was doing, taking care of his half-brothers ward, but it seemed natural.

Brushing those thoughts away, he turned to Kikyo who was looking at him curiously. "What?" he snapped, his ears folding back on his head. Kikyo smiled. "Nothing." She turned to look at the new arrival. "So, I do not suppose you could tell us who you are and why you helped us, could you?" The man smiled at her warmly. "Of course, I will answer your questions to the best of my ability, but first I will tend to that child's wound." He smiled at Rin, and she smiled back tentatively. "Hello, my name is Rin." The man laughed quietly. "I know, child, I know." He walked over to her and knelt down in front of her. "You can call me Pilgrim."  
_

Kagome sat on her throne, deep in thought. She had watched the entire encounter from beginning to end, and she was pondering her reactions the the spectacle. She had expected to feel glee and satisfaction at Inuyasha's suffering and she had, but not for long. Soon that small part of her mind that remembered the feelings she'd had for the hanyou came forward, and whispered words of forgiving in her mind. She'd refused to give in, forcibly reminding herself how Inuyasha had wronged her, how she had died because of his betrayal. It hadn't worked too well.

When he his blood had boiled over she watched in fascination as he tore into his enemies. Something deep within her had been attracted to his display of strength and ferocity. Something, a presence of some kind had practically purred when she watched him dig his claws into Juroumaru's flesh. 'I guess it's a side-effect of my transformation,' she thought to herself. When Kikyo had been wounded she had felt a quick pulse of satisfaction, quickly followed by jealousy as Inuyasha had run to her side.

She had quelled those feelings forcefully, refusing to heed them. Then that man that called himself Pilgrim had appeared. She felt like she should know him, but she couldn't place it. She had have to ask the others. When Kageromaru had taken the little girl hostage and threatened to kill her, she had intervened without thinking. When the worm disobeyed her, she reacted by sending him back to the pit.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Hakudoshi arrived, dragging the human samurai with him. 'Ah, finally something going to plan.' Hakudoshi walked up to her throne and bowed slightly. "I've brought him." Kagome smiled. 'Quick and to the point, as always.' "Well done, Hakudoshi. Once more, I find that I did right in saving you, though I think your act with those samurai was a trifle overdone." The white childe shrugged. "They wanted to stop me, I stopped them. That's all there is to it." Kagome smiled again. 'Intriguing, I was worried about that girl, but those samurai's deaths don't really touch me.'

She looked at the samurai, who had freed himself from the net and struggled to his feet. He stared at her, his hand wandering to his sword. "Don't." Kagome's voice was firm and commanding, and Hayato froze. "Why do you think you are still armed. If you could harm me, I would have told Hakudoshi to take your sword." She stared at him, and her cold eyes made him shudder. "What do you want with me." He managed to keep his voice firm, but his eyes betrayed his fear. "I don't want you so much as your skill," Kagome said matter-of-factly.

"I will pull the soul from your body, distil your skill from it and use it to create warriors to serve me. You may not have known, but you are one of the most skilled samurai of Nippon at this time." She looked away, her brow furrowing in concentration. "The one to be called the greatest of all is merely a child by now, so I had to take you." She looked back at him. "The procedure will be unpleasant, and your personality will probably be lost in the process." Her tone was conversational, despite her words.

Hayato paled, but didn't back away. "If it keeps my lord and sister safe, I will accept this fate." Kagome smiled at him. "Loyal to a fault. I like that in a man." She stood her floor length gown of white silk flowing around her. "You will be perfect for my plans, Hayato. And I assure you, your daimyo and your sister have nothing to fear from me or my servants," here she shot a glance at Hakudoshi, "I give you my word." Hayato bowed. "That is all I can ask for." Kagome looked at him thoughtfully. "I must say, it is strange that you resign yourself so readily." The samurai frowned. "I am well aware of your power. I know that I cannot defeat you, so I seek to protect those I am sworn to in any way I can."

Kagome gazed into his eyes, her blue piercing his black. "Interesting. There is youkai blood within you." Kagome was genuinely surprised. It was very hard to see, and even she had missed it at first, but his declaration had made her curious. After a very close scrutiny of his aura she found small pockets of youki almost invisible. "Dragon, by the looks of it." Kagome smiled. "Yes, you'll be fine." She turned to Hakudoshi. "Take him to the holding cells. After that you may rest. I will call for you when I have need of you." The white child nodded, bowed and left, pulling Hayato with him.

Kagome retreated to her chambers, lost in thought. She walked over to her mirror, gazing at her reflection, at the eyes, and the stripes that adorned her face. Her thoughts were on her encounter with Hayato. That damned voice within her soul spoke up, saying that he had done nothing to deserve his fate. Kagome growled, mentally silencing the voice. 'It's for the greater good,' she told herself, 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.' The small voice piped up one last time. It said that the road to hell was paved with good intentions.

Determined to distract herself from the unsettling thoughts, she walked to a low stone desk. Upon it lay five clear crystals, each one roughly the size of a child's fist. She stared at them thinking. "Which one to bring first," she wondered aloud. She reached out, her hand hovering above the crystals. "The saint, the monk, the priest, the crusader or the hunter. Which one should be first." She closed her eyes for a moment. Then she seemed to come to a decision. "Yes, you will be first." She closed her hand on one of the crystals and picked it up. "It is time Heinrich. Time for the crusader to return to this world."

N/A: First of all, I want to apologise for the lateness of this update. I believe I suffered from what many of you refer to as writers block. And I didn't like it. Again, I thank everyone for their supportive words. They are the only reason I can keep writing. I hope that you all will continue to like and review my work. Again, I thank all of you. *bows*


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Crusader

The first thing that told Sesshoumaru that something was wrong were the guards. When he had left the village, security was practically nonexistent. Now human guards with spears and tools surrounded the village. They eyed the approaching daiyoukai with a wary eye, but didn't dare stand in his way. Sesshoumaru gave them no second thought. If they tried to stop him, they would die.

Fortunately for them they had been informed of the western lords arrival and instructed to let him pass. The second sign that something was amiss was Jaken. The small retainer stood in front of a hut, holding his staff like a guard might hold a spear. The expression on his ugly, green face was serious. An image of Rin flashed through Sesshoumaru's mind and he quickened his steps. When Jaken noticed him a rapid series of emotions played across his features. First relief, then worry, then fear.

The fear confirmed that something had happened to his ward. In a flash he stood before his servant who immediately prostrated himself. "S-S-Sesshoumaru-sama, it is good that you are back my lord, your faithfu-" Jaken's squawking was interrupted by a boot squashing him to the ground. Sesshoumaru had caught his wards scent and decided so check Rin's condition before applying any punishment.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" The squeal was followed by Rin's impact on his legs. "Rin is so glad you're back! Some bad people were here and wanted to hurt Rin, but now they're gone and you are back and everything's fine again!"

Mildly surprised and deeply relived to see the girl alive and well, Sesshoumaru bent down to check her for damage, once again wiping all emotion from his face and ignoring the other people in the small house, though he noted that the slayer, the monk and the kitsune were awake and staring at him with slight unease.

When he failed to find any damage on the girl, who was patiently waiting for him to finish his inspection, his gaze shifted to the stranger amidst the group he had got to know better than he would have liked. He took in the man's strange appearance and scent, and noted that the stranger did not appear to be at all intimidated by the mighty Inu, studying him with calm eyes just as he was being studied in turn.

Without taking his eyes of the slightly unsettling stranger he spoke. "Miko, this Sesshoumaru will be informed about the attackers Rin mentioned."

Kaede smirked at the daiyoukai's haughty demand, but didn't argue. "Only a day ago we, or more accurately, Inuyasha, was attacked by two creatures that claimed to be working for Kagome, and..."

"That was a dirty lie!" Inuyasha snapped. Sesshoumaru's gaze flashed to his half-brother. "This Sesshoumaru did not ask you for your opinion, half-breed, do not interrupt again." Inuyasha opened his mouth to argue but an icy glare convinced him to remain silent for now. Sesshoumaru turned back to Kaede and inclined his head. "Continue."

Kaede nodded, slightly annoyed by Inuyasha's denial. "The two attackers were originally created by Naraku a long time ago, but they were defeated by Inuyasha and company. They claimed to have been brought back to life for a brief time to kill Inuyasha and maybe also Kikyo."

Sesshoumaru nodded but his expression remained emotionless. "During the attack," Kaede went on, "Kikyo got herself injured when she assisted Inuyasha, who by this point had been completely overwhelmed by his youkai blood." Inuyasha snorted but remained silent.

"At that moment Pilgrim," she inclined her head to the smiling stranger, "intervened, healing Kikyo's wound and calming Inuyasha's youkai rage, though I still don't know how he did that." She looked at the man questioningly, but he only smiled. Seeing that no explanation would be given at this time, she looked back at the daiyoukai.

"One of the attackers took Rin hostage and then tried to kill her, but then something happened. An angry crow cawed at them and they paused, seeming to argue with the bird." Sesshoumaru lifted a silver brow at that, a memory of crows circling above a strangely changed Kagome flashing through his mind.

"When the creature announced his intention to kill Rin, he and his brother were...destroyed." Sesshoumaru noticed Kaede's pause, but didn't question her about it. He was currently fighting his rage. He was incredibly angry that someone had attempted to kill his ward in his absence. Angry at the attackers, angry at Kagome for sending them, angry at Jaken for failing to protect her, angry at Inuyasha for being a miserable fighter and angry at himself for not being there.

Inuyasha slapping himself in the face distracted him from his anger. "Inuyasha-sama, it is good to see you alive and well," a slightly squashed Myouga wheezed as he fell from the hanyou's face. "Myouga?" Inuyasha was obviously surprised. "You're still alive?"

The boys surprise turned to anger. "Were have you been hiding this past year, eh?" Myouga re-inflated and flew into his usual string of excuses immediately. "I was not hiding my lord," he squeaked, "I was looking for information that could aid you in your quest against the evil Naraku."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Well did you find anything?" Myouga scratched his head and looked down. "Ah, well, you see..." "Keh! I thought so." Inuyasha squashed the flea in his fist and dropped him.

Sesshoumaru watched, carefully getting his anger under control. Only Rin was able to get such reactions out of him, and he wasn't sure if he liked that. The Inu lord turned his attention to the stranger, the one Kaede had called Pilgrim. "Explain yourself."

Pilgrim laughed, the sound instantly cheering everyone up, it even helped to calm Sesshoumaru's rage. "Direct and to the point, an admirable trait in a ruler. It is definitely better than beating around the bush while looking for a path to take." Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "You didn't answer this one's demand."

The strange man smiled. "I am Pilgrim, and I am here to help you and your country. A great power has awoken, and it could bring great destruction upon the world if it is not stopped." He looked at the people in the hut, who were now looking at him with rapt attention.

"I have already told you all that I have come from a distant country to help stop or at least control this power, so that the danger may be averted." Miroku stirred. "Yes," he said, his keen eyes studying Pilgrim's face, "but you have not told us anything else, neither about yourself nor about the nature of this power, claiming that you were waiting for Sesshoumaru-sama to return."

Pilgrim nodded. "Yes, his presence is necessary, for he will play an important role in what is to come." The man turned back to the now slightly annoyed daiyoukai. "Forgive me for the question, but might I assume that Bokuseno has informed you on the power of the spark of creation?" The daiyoukai hid a frown, surprised that the stranger knew of the ancient tree youkai, and that he had gone to visit him.

"Bokuseno informed this Sesshoumaru about that matter, though he was not able to explain this spark sufficiently." Pilgrim nodded, smiling. "Then I will try to make it clearer." Inuyasha grunted. "What are you two talking about, eh? What's a spark of creation? And what has that got to do with our situation?" Pilgrim looked at the irate hanyou, not dropping his friendly smile. "Almost everything."

He explained the nature of the spark to them, and Sesshoumaru listened for anything that Bokuseno had not revealed. He had to admit that this man unsettled him. He felt the deep urge to trust him and something in his mind insisted that he was no threat. Sesshoumaru's trust was not easily won, only three beings in this world could rightfully claim to have it, and one of those still had not released his legs.

When Pilgrim ended his explanation all were quiet for a few minutes, digesting what they had been told. Finally Miroku broke the silence. "Does this spark's power have limits? Would it be possible to become an omnipotent being? Like a god?" Pilgrim shook his head and a trace of sadness crept into his eyes.

"No, that is not possible, at least not for an ordinary human. The spark can only change you into something that you can truly imagine, and no one, not even the most powerful youkai, can truly fathom what it means to be a god."

"But," Sango started tentatively, "all of this doesn't explain why Kagome changed like that, I mean, if it really is her..." "For god sake, that thing isn't Kagome!" Inuyasha had jumped to his feet. "That's just some monster that stole Kagome's body!" Pilgrim looked at him sadly. "Inuyasha, your stubborn reluctance to accept the truth is beginning to tire me."

He sighed. "I presume that I must explain this matter to you, but I suggest we do it while we travel." Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "And where would we be going?" The others nodded, also wanting to know. "The girl Kagome is the first scion of the power that threatens the world's balance, and as we speak she is preparing to bring one of her comrades into this world. If it is possible I wish to stop her."

He glanced at the Inu lord reading the question in the daiyoukai's eyes. "I can feel her presence at all times, and right now she is somewhere to the west of here, and she is gathering power."

Pilgrim got to his feet and stretched. "I know that all of you are confused and uncertain and I promise that I will explain all I can, but I must ask you to trust me. I need your help, I cannot stop this alone."

Kikyo was the first to rise. "I for one will help you. Maybe I can atone for my sins this way." Pilgrim looked at her with kind eyes. "There is little that you can be blamed for child, and all of it happened in your first life, but I am grateful for your help."

Miroku rose next, closely followed by Sango. "We will assist you too, if only to help the lady Kagome." Pilgrim smiled at them. "You may discover that to be a dangerous and possibly deadly task, but you may yet succeed." Sesshoumaru nodded. "This threat to my lands cannot be allowed to exist, so I accept your help, Pilgrim. But be warned, if you betray me, you will die." Pilgrim chuckled. "It will be as you say, lord." Inuyasha got up last. "Keh! I'll come with you. Can't let Kikyo go by herself." Pilgrim sighed. "I thank you for your assistance, Inuyasha."  
_

Hakudoshi watched as his mistress and her kobolds prepared the odd structure she had created. It was made entirely from wood. Two great trees had formed the centrepiece. They had been tied together with ropes to form a strange cross. The lower half was longer than the upper half, making it look a bit like an incomplete ship mast. The cross stood upright in a hole in the ground. Before lay a large boulder that had been hewn to look like a crude table.

The cross and the boulder were surrounded by burning torches and their flickering light gave the whole structure a strange, otherworldly aura. Kagome stood to one side, watching her servants erect a monolith to the east of the cross. Three other monoliths lay beside holes to the west, north and south of the cross.

Unsure what to expect, the white child looked to his mistresses newest servants. Ten humanoid shapes formed a perimeter around the area. They were tall, and clothed completely in black. Black hakama covered their legs, blackened armour their torsos, and their faces were concealed by masks and hoods. Swords were strapped to their waistes.

Hakudoshi thought back to the previous day, when he had watched his mistress create these silent sentinels. It had been an amazing sight.

*Flashback*

Hakudoshi watched dispassionately as Hayato, the human samurai, was brought before his mistress in her throne room. The human stood before her, stripped to the waist, head held high. Kagome studied him for a moment before speaking. "I take it you have prepared yourself?"

Hayato didn't answer, but merely nodded. Kagome didn't waste any time. "Good. Farewell, Hayato. I wish we could have met under other circumstances." She rose from her throne and stepped towards Hayato until she was only a few steps away from him. She closed her eyes and began to chant in a strange language. Her aura flared around her like a dark purple fire. She raised her hands, her palms facing Hayato.

When her chant reached a crescendo, her eyes snapped open, and with a last commanding word, a beam of blue light shot out of Hayato's chest and into her hands. The human's face scrunched up in apparent agony, but no sound crossed his lips. The blue light pulsed and throbbed around Kagome's outstretched hands and formed a perfect orb. Suddenly the beam stopped, and only the orb remained.

Hayato had disappeared, his entire body turning into dust. The blue orb of light that hovered above Kagome's hands began to pulse and shrink as the woman resumed her chant. Just before Hakudoshi thought it would disappear entirely, there was a flash, and a small ball of blue crystal fell into Kagome's palm.

Kagome held the crystal up, inspecting it carefully. Apparently satisfied, she smiled. "Perfect." She turned, her gown of pristine white billowing around her. She walked to a high table she had prepared beforehand. Several peculiar items lay upon it. A dagger, a wooden spoon, a small bowl, a basin of clear water, three long silver hairs and three black black ones. The strands of hair were held down by carefully placed stones. They lay parallel to each other, one black, one silver, one black and so on.

Kagome placed the crystal marble in the bowl and grasped the dagger. She pulled her sleeve back and set the dagger to her bare hand, holding it over the hair. She made a swift cut, blood oozing from the wound. Carefully she dripped blood onto the hair, two drops on each strand.

"Strength of the demon, skill of the human, speed of the wind, loyalty of the servant, beauty of the beast, courage of the warrior." She was chanting quietly. Every time a drop of blood hit a strand of hair, that strand would frizzle and smoke. When all the strands had been treated this way, she washed her injured hand in the water basin and watched the cut heal up.

By then the hair had gone completely, and only a strange, thick black liquid remained. She took the bowl with the small marble in one hand and the spoon in the other. With quick, skilled movements she scooped the liquid into the bowl. Setting the bowl onto the now empty table. She held her hands over it and closed her eyes.

"Soul of a warrior, a master of the blade. Essence of a youkai, the strongest of them all. Bound by my blood, I command you to be as one." The ball and the liquid started to glow with a purple light, and slowly the liquid disappeared, and the blue crystal darkened until it was a dull violet.

"It is done", Kagome sighed. She took the crystal from the bowl and inspected it again. "Perfect." She turned to Hakudoshi. "This," she said, holding the ball up, "is what will provide me with new warriors. As long as I have this I can create as many fighters as I need, the number is only limited by the strength of my will."

"But for now I won't make more than ten. My kobolds have already prepared the host bodies. Come, Hakudoshi, I want you to meet your future comrades." She turned and walked through the far door with a swish of white silk and black hair. The white child followed after her.

*End of Flashback*

Bodies of bloody clay. That's what these creatures were, bloody clay, brought into shape by magic and a human soul. But Hakudoshi had to admire their abilities. The creatures were fast, strong and wielded their blades with great skill as they had demonstrated on a group of foolish youkai that had tried to fight his mistress for the shikon shards she carried.

The youkai had been cut down by the new servants without receiving a single wound. Now they stood guard while their mistress prepared to bring one of the mysterious Martyrs into this world. Hakudoshi wasn't sure what to expect. He never was around that woman.  
_

The party that had set out from Edo the previous day was a strange one. One slayer, one monk, one Neko youkai, one Kitsune, one inu hanyou, one inu daiyoukai, one miko and a gaijin.

After they had been walking mostly in silence for a few hours, Sango finally asked Pilgrim to continue his explanation about Kagome's return and strange transformation.

Pilgrim sighed, sorrow evident in his face. "Usually, a soul is bound to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth until that soul has achieved true peace and perfection. Kagome was the reincarnation of Kikyo." He nodded to the miko, who walked beside Inuyasha. "When Kagome came to this time, the problems began."

Nobody questioned how Pilgrim knew that Kagome came from the future. "For at this time, her and Kikyo's soul is actually still in limbo, waiting to be reborn into a new life."

"When the witch Urasue brought Kikyo back, she was unable to complete the spell as Kagome was already present. But the spell caused a rupture in the spirit realm and a tiny shift in reality. Two beings with the same soul cannot exist at the same time. "

Pilgrim looked to the sky, watching a passing bird. "The only reason why the spell worked at all, was because the soul in question is particularly old and powerful." He looked back at Kikyo. "When Kagome died, most of her soul went to you."

"But a small part, the part that held most of Kagome's personality, split off." Kikyo frowned. "So that's why. I always wondered why I had most of her memories but could not truly understand them." Pilgrim nodded. "Yes, to truly understand those memories you would have to understand Kagome first."

"What happened to the other part, Kagome's part, of their soul." The question came from Inuyasha, but he didn't look at pilgrim, instead staring straight ahead, a troubled look in his eyes.

"That part, I am afraid, was left homeless, floating about the nether realm without anything to attach to. And eventually, she was drawn into the dark abyss of hell." Everyone except Sesshoumaru froze, horrified at their friends fate. Inuyasha squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth as a new wave of guilt swept through him.

"Hell," Shippo choked, "How? How could that be? Kagome was the last person to deserve hell!" He stared at Pilgrim with tears in his eyes, an angry scowl on his face. "Why did she go to hell?" He shouted.

Pilgrim stared at the young kitsune with endless sadness in his eyes. "You must understand, child. Kagome was a time traveller, and time travel disrupts the fabric of reality, both in the spiritual world and in this world. And that is why this perversion occurred, that is why one of the purest and kindest people this world will ever see was dragged into a place of torment and damnation."

Shippo sniffed, his eyes brimming with tears. "Shippo, I.." Sango began, but Shippo interrupted her with an angry shout. "You!" He pointed an accusing finger at Kikyo. "This is all your fault! Yours and Inuyasha's! Because of you my mother landed in hell!" The small youkai trembled with rage, and a trace of red started to taint his eyes.

Kikyo stared at the Kitsune, pain and anguish evident on her face. "I know. I...I.." Inuyasha grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. Kikyo held onto him, fearing to lose herself if she let go. Inuyasha looked at the furious child in front of him. "Shippo, I know that you hate me, and I know that I deserve it. But please. Don't hate her. She wasn't herself when she returned."Kikyo looked at him. "Inuyasha I.."

"He is right you know," Pilgrim said quietly. "When you returned Kikyo, you were only a shadow of your former self, a pale imitation. Your strongest memories were those of the pain you felt over Inuyasha's perceived betrayal. You were a husk, a shell."

"You cannot be blamed for what happened to Kagome." He turned to Shippo. "Your adoptive mother suffered from the same fate. Her last feelings were the anger, pain and disappointment over her abandonment."

"She was pulled into the abyss and there she faced the fate reserved for the most evil sinners. A fate she never deserved." His gaze met Inuyasha's. "You refuse to believe that the woman that climbed from Kagome's grave is really Kagome. And you are half right."

Inuyasha looked up. "What?" Pilgrim nodded. "To escape the pain and torment of hell, Kagome's subconscious finally triggered the spark of creation that had joined with her part of the shared soul. To protect herself she changed who she was."

"Her subconscious searched her memories and she picked the strongest entities she had met throughout her journeys." He chuckled. "It is not very surprising when I think about it." Sango stared at him. "What isn't surprising? Who was chosen?"

Pilgrim smiled at her. "When she first reappeared you were unconscious, so you did not see how she behaved. But let me tell you how it was." He looked at the sky again. "I am aware of two beings that she chose. I do not think there were others. From each she took something and merged it with her being."

"When she came back to this world, she was cold, emotionless, cruel and fought with ruthless efficiency. Does that remind you of someone?" They thought for a moment and Inuyasha was the second one to understand the hints. With wide eyes he slowly turned to look at Sesshoumaru, who had caught on immediately. "You? She chose you?"

Sesshoumaru merely stared at him. "A wise decision. She could not have chosen better, I am the most powerful youkai since our father left these lands." Pilgrim's laughter broke the tension that was building between the two. "Yes, quite right," he chortled, "but Sesshoumaru wasn't the only one she chose."

"When the wolf prince met her, she was haughty, demanding, and sadistic, and she used her minions to take down Kouga and she appeared to enjoy cutting the jewel shards from his legs. Then she sent Kageromaru and Jouromaru after Inuyasha. Who do those things remind you of?" This time only Sesshoumaru got it.

"Naraku," he stated. The Inutachi gasped. "No, no! Why should she choose that, that monster!" Sango was horrified. Sesshoumaru looked at her. "For his mind. Despite everything, you must admit that Naraku is highly intelligent, and his schemes have brought down enemies more powerful then himself."

"Correct." Pilgrim was still looking at the clouds. "Naraku has a powerful mind, and Sesshoumaru is a powerful fighter. But those aren't the only reason she chose those two. They had something she lacked. For she was very intelligent herself, and her full potential was close to Sesshoumaru's even then."

He sighed and looked down. "The main reasons were very different. Sesshoumaru can control his emotions perfectly, only rarely showing anything that goes on inside him. Kagome wanted that, to protect her hurt feelings from further injury."

"Naraku was capable of extreme cruelty and wickedness, something she lacked. After boundless kindness and compassion had sent her to hell, she wanted nothing to do with those things anymore. She needed Naraku's darkness for that."

"So she really has changed?" Inuyasha asked slowly. Kikyo pushed away from him and turned to look at Pilgrim. "Can she, you know, be changed back?" Inuyasha continued. Pilgrim looked at him sadly. "I am afraid that that is impossible. The Kagome you knew is gone forever. When a spark changes someone those changes are final."

Everything was silent after that. Even the birds seemed to quiet down. After several minutes Miroku spoke. "May I ask you a question, Pilgrim-sama?" Pilgrim smiled at him. "Pilgrim will suffice. And yes. What do you want to know."

Miroku stared at him, contemplating his question. "How is it that you know all of this? How could you possibly know about Kagome's time in the next world, or her appearance at her grave? You weren't there."

Pilgrim looked at him. At that moment the youthful appearance seemed to fade. The light in his eyes dimmed and the smile that he'd worn all the time faded. He suddenly appeared ancient and weary "A wise question and a simple answer. I know the minds and hearts of all that have been betrayed, no matter if the betrayal is real, or imagined."

"I am the one who searches the worlds for those poor souls to provide comfort and peace." Pilgrim turned away from them then and continued down the road. "Come, Kagome has almost completed her preparations, and we must hurry. We should reach our destination before sunset."

The others followed him in stunned silence, each caught up in his own thoughts.

Several hours later Pilgrim stopped them before a small forest. "We must be careful now, we are very close to her. She has created a powerful barrier to conceal her aura, but that cannot hide her from me." Sesshoumaru strode to the front of the group, ignoring Inuyasha's growl. "We should assume that she has spells and maybe minions ready to protect her in case her wards should fail."

Drawing Tokujin Sesshoumaru walked forwards without a sound. The Inutachi followed on his heels not quite as silent. After several minutes of walking, Sesshoumaru caught the scent of burning torches and heard voices chanting in a language he did not know. The attack came swiftly and silently. Only Sesshoumaru's superior senses saved them.

"Enemies!" His call set them off immediately. Inuyasha yanked Tessaiga from its sheath and took a defensive position in front of Kikyo, Sango and Miroku stood back to back, Kirara transformed and Shippo jumped in front of pilgrim.

The black shapes came from all sides, swords glinting in the fading sunlight. Three shapes came at Sesshoumaru, attacking in perfect teamwork. Three attacked Kikyo and Inuyasha and Kirara, Sango and Miroku had to deal with one each. Pilgrim and Shippo was attacked as well, but he simply erected a barrier around Shippo and himself, and the enemy was unable to penetrate it.

The fight was brutal. The enemies were incredibly skilled and pushed the Inutachi to their limits. Even Sesshoumaru had to admit that they were good. Inuyasha was hard pressed to keep them from Kikyo and stay alive himself. He dodged and attacked endlessly, but every time he managed to line on of his enemies up for a strike another blocked his blow.

Kikyo was unable to get a clear shot, her targets were moving incredibly fast. Sango and Miroku were holding their own, deflecting the attackers swords with staff and short sword, but always on the defensive. Kirara was doing her best to keep her enemy at bay, but she was already bleeding from several wounds.

It might have ended badly if Sesshoumaru had not been there. With peerless skill, he beheaded one of his opponents and the other two were soon dispatched as well. Then he quickly took out the ones harassing Shippo and Kirara. The other five retreated as if on command, pulling back towards the chanting voices that could be heard by everyone by now.

They pursued their fleeing enemies without hesitation. But they stopped short when they arrived at the clearing. The great cross that stood at the centre of the clearing and the monoliths that surrounded it were glowing in an eerie blue green light.

In front of the makeshift altar stood Kagome, both arms raised above her, her head thrown back, her eyes burning with blue fire, her hair and robes whipping around her in a powerful wind, a storm of inky black and pristine white. She was leading the chanting, while the same reptilian servants that Sesshoumaru and Kouga had described repeated after her. The small creatures formed a circle around the burning cross, their stances mimicked Kagome's. The five remaining attackers stood in front of the gathering in a defensive semi circle.

The Inutachi stared at her, unable to believe their eyes. They all had wished in their hearts that it had all been a mistake, that it wasn't their old friend who was causing all of this. But what they saw now destroyed those false hopes.

Only Sesshoumaru had continued on without pausing, only to be stopped by Hakudoshi before he could reach the woman. The two of them fought while the others struggled to get over their shock. Hakudoshi was highly skilled and very strong, but even he could not match Sesshoumaru's strength in a fair fight.

But he had no real intention of fighting fair. Suddenly he leaped straight up and Sesshoumaru was hit by a ball of energy that came from the trees behind Hakudoshi. The demon steed, Entei, stormed across the clearing, allowing Hakudoshi to land on its back. When the smoke cleared, Hakudoshi discovered that Sesshoumaru was protected by a thin barrier. He had dropped Tokujin and grabbed Tensaiga, using the sheath's barrier to protect himself.

Hakudoshi cursed and lifted his halberd, but before he could attack a voice stopped him. "Hakudoshi!" Entei jumped back to stand behind the other guards. Kagome stood, tall and proud before the altar, while her minions continued the chants. She had her arms crossed and a dark smile adorned her pale lips.

"It is done. He will be here within moments." The strange cross and the monoliths were now glowing red, and flashes of energy were passing between the standing stones and the wooden construction. Kagome walked around the alter and went to stand next to Hakudoshi and his steed. She looked at Sesshoumaru and bowed to him. "Greetings Western Lord, so we meet again."

She turned her gaze to the Inutachi and sneered. "Ah, my _friends._" she drawled. "And Kikyo as well. I must say this is a pleasant surprise. Aren't you happy to see me?" Her gaze fell onto Pilgrim who merely stared back at her, a sad smile in his face. "You. Who are you?" She asked him. Pilgrim merely tilted his head at her. "I know who I am, but do you know who you are?"

"Kagome," Inuyasha started, "is that really you?" Kagome glared at him. "Why do you ask? Don't you believe your eyes? You've already had one person come back from the dead, so it shouldn't surprise you if it happens again."

"Kagome-chan", "Kagome-sama", "Kaa-san". Three voices called to her, and for a moment it seemed as if her eyes softened, especially when she looked at Shippo, but the moment passed. "Sango, Miroku, Shippo." She said tonelessly. "I have no problem with you, but if you stand in my way I'll have to get rid of you."

Her cold tone shocked her friends to the core, and Shippo burst into tears. Kagome's eye twitched as she stared at the bawling kitsune, but she didn't move. Sesshoumaru moved. With blinding speed he whipped Tokujin out and sent a dragon strike directly at Kagome. It exploded against a powerful barrier that encompassed the entire construction at the centre of the clearing.

"I won't make it that easy for you my lord, if you want to get me you'll have to fight for it." She grinned at him, and winked.

Suddenly the cross exploded, showering bits and pieces of wood all over the clearing. When Sesshoumaru could see through the dust and smoke of the explosion he saw a huge man standing where the cross had been. He was easily a head taller than Sesshoumaru and broader too. Like Pilgrim he was gaijin, but his skin was paler than Pilgrim's and his hair was golden.

His piercing eyes were the same cold shade of blue as Kagome's. He wore hard leather boots and what looked like tight fitting hakama. His torso was covered by shirt of linked steel rings, that covered his arms to the wrists. He wore white, sleeveless shirt that hung down below a heavy leather and steel belt and almost reached is knees. The white shirt sported a red cross, very much like the one that had been in the centre of the clearing, in the chest area.

His left arm was covered by a heavy steel gauntlet from the elbow. His head was uncovered allowing his golden hair to cascade down his back. A large sword hung from his belt. He looked around and breathed deeply of the evening air. "Ah, " he spoke in a deep sonorous voice. "It has been too long since I was able to breathe the wholesome air of this world."

Sesshoumaru knew that he shouldn't be able to understand the man, he was speaking in a strange guttural language, but the words rang loud and clear through his mind. The giant looked around before his gaze fell on the western lord. Then his mouth split into a wide grin and he burst into booming laughter.

"The fates be praised!" He shouted. "Since I beheld thee in the great scrying pond I have wished to cross blades with thee, warrior." He drew his sword eagerly and pointed it at Sesshoumaru. "Let us test our mettle against each other and see if thou art worthy of thine name, Killing Perfection."

He took a booming step forwards. "I am Heinrich von Hartfelsen, and I am honoured to fence with thee." Sesshoumaru attacked with blinding speed, intending to take this pompous gaijin out with a single blow. His surprise was complete when the strange warrior, managed to deflect Tokujin with his own blade. He was surprised again when his opponent managed to force him back and start a counter attack. He managed to block the swing with Tokujin, but the sheer strength in the blow forced him back a step.

He eyed the warrior with a new sense of respect. This was not going to be easy. Heinrich brought his sword up in front of him. "Komm, Krieger, kämpfe!" He charged.

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A/N: I really apologize for the lateness of the update. My laptop had decided to commit seppuku, and I've only just got it back. I should be able to keep the updates running more regularly from now on. I thank you for your patience and hope you are still enjoying this story. *bows*


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Disbelief

All movement on the clearing had ceased. All eyes were riveted to the display of the two warriors. The spectacle was awe inspiring.

Sesshoumaru moved like a dancer, every move graceful and potentially lethal. His proficiency with the blade stemmed from centuries of hard training and countless battles. The western lord rarely lost.

Compared to the daiyoukai, the Crusader's moves seemed stilted and awkward yet a careful onlooker would see that what Heinrich's style lacked in elegance, it had in efficiency. Sesshoumaru's speed kept his opponent on the defensive, but that defence appeared to be impenetrable. Every attack was stopped by blade, cross guard or an armoured gauntlet.

The spectators watched the deadly contest with unconcealed awe. None were unaffected by it. The inu tachi had never seen Sesshoumaru go all out, and at this moment Inuyasha realised that his half-brother had never truly wanted to kill him, for he would have definitely succeeded. The hanyou was humbled by the daiyoukai's swordsmanship and power.

Sesshoumaru, however, was not feeling so confident anymore. He had quickly realized that his opponent, this Heinrich, was far more skilled than he had originally anticipated.

The fighter was concentrating on defence at the moment and the western lord wanted to keep it that way. 'Faster, must move faster, strike harder!'

Step, blow, jump, two blows, two steps, blow. No matter how fast he moved or how hard he struck, his enemy kept up.

With some difficulty, Inuyasha managed to redirect his attention from the fight back to the horribly familiar figure by the altar in the centre of the clearing. Her arms crossed over her chest, the woman that had once been his 'shard detector', watched the Crusader and the inu lord fight.

Her ice blue eyes that had once been a warm brown were fixed on the two combatants. She didn't even seem to notice the hanyou staring at her.

Inuyasha felt his heart tremble and shiver with guilt and sorrow. It was his fault that the cheerful and kind girl had been transformed into this being. "Ka-Kagome..." The name left his lips as a stuttered mumble, but she seemed to hear it anyway.

Her head turned and those dreadful eyes fixed on a trembling Inuyasha. Her gaze seemed to pierce his very soul and freeze his heart. Her lips slowly turned upward in a cruel smirk. At that moment he saw something the woman had taken from Naraku.

Cruelty. During their travels, Kagome had often driven Inuyasha to desperation with her kindness and compassion. They had stopped in almost every village to help the populace. Travellers on the road, lost children, youkai, both hanyou and full. She had helped all of them.

Inuyasha saw nothing of that compassion in her expression now. It was like a grizzly fake, mocking the warmth and love that had never completely left her face in the past.

"Inuyasha." The passion and ecstasy that had filled her voice during the summoning ceremony had left her voice, leaving only ice and frosty antipathy behind.

Inuyasha took a step towards her. "Kagome,...I...I'm so.." The smirk evaporated off her face in an instant, and was replaced by anger and malice. "Silence! I won't listen to your lousy excuses and apologies anymore! Do you thing a mere 'sorry' would get me running back to you again?"

Her voice was like a jagged knife, cutting into his flesh. "I may have been stupid and naive enough to believe you're lies before, but not anymore."

The rest of the Inutachi was stepped forward, their expressions pained. "Kagome, what happened to you?" Sango choked out. Kagome's eyes turned to the slayer, her expression neutral once more. "Simple. I died. Why are you so upset?"

Kagome tilted her head to the side, but didn't even bother to conceal the wicked light in her eyes. "I seem to recall that this isn't the first time you lost someone close to you, shouldn't you be used to it by now?"

The deliberate reminder of her loss stung Sango worse than any enemy's sword ever had. The grief threatened to overwhelm her but a steady hand on her shoulder saved her and she held firm, forcing the tears back.

Miroku recognised something else Kagome had inherited from Naraku, and maybe Sesshoumaru as well. The ability to use words as weapons. "Kagome-sama," the monk addressed his former friend. "I deeply regret not being able to avert your fate, but it was beyond our control."

"You have no reason to vent your ire on us." Kagome laughed at that. The laugh was cold and cruel, and reminded the inu tachi that this wasn't the same Kagome that they had lost.

"Vent my ire?" she mocked. "Oh my dear Miroku, I am not 'venting my ire'." She glared at them those orbs of pale ice. "If I were doing that you wouldn't survive it." Her voice was laced with iron conviction.

"Kagome? Kaa-san?" Shippo inched forward slowly, his eyes overflowing with tears, his voice heavy. Kagome's gaze snapped down to him. For a brief second, Miroku thought that her eyes warmed, that the ice melted, as she gazed at her adopted son.

But the impression past quickly, and Kagome turned her back on the sniffing child. "This is not your business, you should all leave. Now. Or I can't guarantee that you won't get hurt." She shot a glance back at Inuyasha.

"But you might want to stay Inuyasha." Her gaze wandered to Kikyo, who had remained silent so far. This time Kagome spoke with wicked glee and satisfaction. "After all, you did offer to go to hell for me, remember?"

Inuyasha froze. He heard Kikyo's sharp intake of breath, and felt his comrades' stares on his back. "How...how..." Inuyasha stammered. He had indeed said that, but he had been alone at the time, and he had never said it out loud.

Kagome grinned and turned back to face them fully, her eyes fixed on Kikyo. "Don't you remember? I promised you never to leave you, didn't I?" Her grin was malicious.

"Being dead didn't stop me from keeping that promise. As soon as I was able to, I came back to you." She shrugged and looked away. "Of course, I could only be there in your dreams, but I did my best to make the short time worthwhile. I hope I was successful."

Inuyasha stared. "The nightmares? All of those terrible nightmares?" he choked out. "That was you?" Again she laughed, freezing them all even more.

"Of course. I couldn't have you forgetting me, now could I?" She turned to look at the incredible battle between the daiyoukai and the being she had brought into this world.

"Magnificent, isn't it. I knew that Heinrich was terribly eager to come back to this world, but I didn't know that he was looking for Sesshoumaru." Her eyes lingered on the youkai lord, who was still struggling to break through his enemy's defence.

Something flickered in Kagome's eyes as she watched Sesshoumaru execute a particularly difficult manoeuvre that finally succeeded in drawing first blood, cutting across the Crusader's unprotected leg.

But quick as lighting the huge warrior retaliated, his armoured fist shooting out and striking the daiyoukai in the chest with crushing force. Before Sesshoumaru could fully recover from the blow, Heinrich followed through.

Now it was Sesshoumaru who was desperately dodging and parrying the Crusaders swings. The strange warrior moved like a juggernaut, forcing the daiyoukai closer to the surrounding trees with every swing of his mighty blade.

Sesshoumaru felt every blow he parried crash through his bones. Not since his father's passing had he faced such an enemy. 'In skill we are almost equal,' he thought, 'I might even be slightly better.'

'And while I am definitely faster, I am not fast enough to land a killing blow, and his strength surpasses mine.' After parrying a particularly powerful blow he was open for a mere second, but Heinrich used the tiny window in the western lords defence.

His heavy boot struck Sesshoumaru's chest, in the same place where he had been punched before. Sesshoumaru felt his weakened ribs break from the kick, but he managed to land another cut, this time on his enemy's face.

The two fighters let of each other, both breathing hard. Sesshoumaru was in pain from his broken ribs, and Heinrich's view was obstructed by blood flowing from a cut above his eyes.

'Hindered,' Sesshoumaru thought as he glanced at the cut. 'The cut is obstructing his view, hindering him...crippling him.' Slowly another feeling pushed to the forefront of the daiyoukai's mind.

'Crippled, like I am' For the first time since he'd lost his arm, he really felt crippled. Before it had never been much of a problem. His power and skill had allowed him to maintain his position as Lord of the Western Lands because only very few youkai in Japan could compare to him, even without his arm.

But now he fought a man who could equal him. Even with both arms it would have been a tough fight, but with only one arm, he felt victory slipping from his grasp.

Shippo stared at his surrogate mother's face with tears streaming down his face. He had sworn not to cry when he met her, but her cruelty and her hurtful words had pushed him too far. He wanted to run to her and beg her to come back to them, yet at the same time he was afraid.

Afraid that she would reject him, that she hated them all now. He slowly turned away, desperate to look at something else, anything else. He looked at Sesshoumaru and the strange giant he was fighting, and from them to the way they had come.

A movement in the darkness caught his attention. He squinted into the blackness, his kitsune eyes struggling to find the source of the movement. When he found it, he gasped and backpedalled in alarm, bumping into Miroku's legs.

The monk looked down at Shippo and then up to find what had unsettled the child so. What he saw made his heart leap into his throat. "Damn!" They were surrounded. The five black garbed warriors that had been destroyed in the forest on their way to the clearing had apparently returned, unless the sinister sword wielding black shapes were different ones.

"I see you have noticed my pets' return." Kagome's dispassionate voice pulled his eyes to her cold face. "I gave you enough time to get away, you know." She shrugged. "Oh well, it might be better this way."

Miroku thought she sounded as if she was trying to persuade herself.

"You know you don't have to do this Kagome," Miroku said wearily. "I know that you feel angry and betrayed, but it doesn't have to end like this." He could see that he had her attention, her paralysing eyes never leaving his face.

"I don't think that you want to kill us, Kagome, and I know that I don't want to fight you." He looked at her and smiled sadly. "I always saw you as a younger sister, much like Sango does." Sango looked up at her monk, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.

"Shippo sees you as his mother and misses you sorely. And even though you feel betrayed by him, not a day has passed without Inuyasha regretting that decision, and even Kikyo..." He didn't get further.

Kagome glared at him, the sudden anger stopping the monk dead. "You have no idea what I went through! You cannot know how only a couple of months in the pit can change your point of view." She scoffed. "You are like all the other humans, conceited, arrogant and foolish."

"You think that just because that one," she jabbed a clawed finger in Pilgrim's direction, "told you what happened to me that you can judge me and tell me what I think." She glared each of them in turn and her gaze settled on Inuyasha.

"And you are the greatest fool of them all. You will die, Inuyasha, but not until you know what it means to truly suffer, to suffer like I had to." She gritted her teeth, the lips pulling back in an angry snarl.

"I gave you everything I had, you asshole. I gave you my heart and you threw it right back in my face!" She was breathing hard now, Sesshoumaru's icy control slipping as she talked herself into a rage.

"And as if that wasn't enough already, as if breaking my heart and fragmenting my soul hadn't already done enough, you killed me!" She was screaming now. "You may not have done it with your own hands, but your betrayal makes you just as guilty as Naraku!"

She spun away from them and stalked to the edge of the clearing, her white robes billowing behind her.

Inuyasha's eyes followed her, the pain and guilt of her accusations tearing terrible wounds into his soul and paralysing his voice. He desperately wanted to call out to her, to beg her forgiveness, to grovel in front of her and offer his life to ease her pain.

But he couldn't move, he couldn't speak and he could hardly breath, as he watched his former best friend walk away from him.

She stopped before she reached the trees. "Don't harm the Kitsune. I don't care what happens to the others." With that she left, Hakudoshi and Entei close behind her.

As one, her ten servants lifted their blades in a salute. Then they attacked.  
Suddenly everyone was fighting for their lives.

Sesshoumaru and Heinrich had recommenced their battle, trading blows at a ferocious speed, despite their injuries. But it was clear to Sesshoumaru that he was losing. For each foot of ground he gained, his enemy pushed him back two.

He had attempted to use the trees as additional cover, but the behemoth he was fighting had simply cut through the wooden hindrances. It hadn't even slowed him down. From the corner of his eye he noticed that the others were fighting as well. They too wouldn't last long if he didn't do something fast.

Their salvation came in form of a golden barrier that encircled the group and Sesshoumaru, pushing their adversaries away from them. At the barriers centre stood Pilgrim, his warm eyes shadowed with sadness.

"This is neither the time nor the place for defeat. You all are needed elsewhere."

The barriers light intensified until everyone in the clearing had to look away from its blinding intensity.

When the light faded, only the Crusader and Kagome's warriors remained in the clearing.

Heinrich stared at the space that had until recently been occupied by his enemy. Then he shrugged and sheathed his blade. "Until we meet again, Sesshoumaru. I shall not forget thee." Then he turned and left in the same direction Kagome had taken previously.

He had important business to attend to. He would finish the fight another time.  
_

Many miles to the west, near a large mountain, a golden light appeared. It flashed and winked in the darkness, got brighter and brighter, flashed and went out. In its place stood a battered and beaten group.

Both mind and body were injured, Pilgrim knew. 'It will take some time and effort to heal them.' He glanced at Sesshoumaru who stood to one side, staring at his sword's blade.

Pilgrim knew that the almost defeat at the Crusaders hands had deeply shaken the youkai lord, but he was confident that he would recover. The experience, although painful, had been necessary.

Pilgrim looked to the sky, at the pale moon that was slowly rising. 'Everything is moving the way I have foreseen. But I still cannot see the end.' He shrugged and turned to look at Inuyasha and his companions. 'No matter, I must see that they all play their part in this drama.'  
_

Kagome strode through the forest, her anger slowly fading. She was appalled by the effect Inuyasha still had on her. She had lost her temper because of him, and he still awoke feelings of bitterness and hurt within her, even though she had been sure that she had gotten away from her pain.

'Stop trying to fool yourself, Kagome. You tried to kill him, and for all you know you might have succeeded this time.' She berated herself for some time before her inner monologue was interrupted by a different voice.

'_My quarry hath escaped me'_, the Crusader's voice echoed through her mind, stopping her in her tracks. _'How?' _she asked mentally. _'I cannot be sure,'_ came the answer, _'but I believe the strange one thou hast told us about was involved.'_

Pilgrim's face flashed through her mind and she growled. _'No matter. We'll have to deal with him later, for now we have more important business to attend to.'_

_'Agreed. Whom of our comrades shall we bring to this realm next?'_

Kagome thought for a minute before deciding. _'The Hunter. He will gather the jewel shards for us. I will need a few days to find and prepare a proper location for the summoning ritual.'_

She felt the Crusader's approval in her mind. _'Ah, thou art wise to choose him. He will find the shards of that bauble quickly."_

Kagome smiled, her anger forgotten. _'Yes, Herne is very talented when it comes to finding things.'_


End file.
